Reaching Out
by WeiXiao
Summary: Bridging a gap that has spanned generations is an arduous task. Especially for a race that has been depicted as heartless monsters for as long as anyone can remember. Rated M because let's face it, if Tokyo Ghoul doesn't get bloody, it's not really Tokyo Ghoul.
1. Introductions

**A/N: Tokyo Ghoul fanfic here I come**

**Expect OC's and setting to start somewhere else in the world (because they do)**

**1****st**** Person Fanfic**

* * *

Hi, my name is Sora Chao. It's a weird name, I know. I have a weird family. My parents were both huge fans of the Kingdom Hearts series, so they ended up naming their child after the protagonist. Go figure.

But the weirdness of my family doesn't really start there. It actually starts wayyy back on my mother's side. Why? Well, I'm 1/16th ghoul.

I have no idea how it started. All I know is that one of my great-great-grandparents was a ghoul. Don't ask, I don't know which one. Either way, the ghoul side of my family continued to mingle with regular humans until eventually it got down to the most recent generation: Me.

I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in existence that's 1/16th ghoul. We've kept pretty quiet about it though. No need to alert the CCG to the existence of our family. It's actually been pretty easy adapting to this. My grandfather was the first part-ghoul to not have to worry about only eating humans. He could eat like anyone else and absorb nutrients the exact same way as humans. The slight downside being that he discovered that he didn't have a kakuhou. Makes sense, I guess. There's gotta be a point where dilution happens and we lose some ghoul traits

While that side of our family was part ghoul, we were essentially human. Traces of the kakugan that you usually see in ghouls slowly disappeared. As of now, the only trace of a kakugan in our family is me. And that's just my right pupil. Not even my entire eye. Which anyone can attribute to heterochromia. We don't have any kagune, kakuhou, that kind of stuff.

Granted there's also the ghoul side of my family. We actually keep in touch pretty often. They're all good people. The younger ones are a bit wild, but they grow out of that over time. The ghouls in our family also does a whole bunch of stuff for the community. They're actually the reason that most people don't notice suicide victims in our city. Mostly because they eat them, but yeah. Convenient way to avoid any the law. And it helps to clean up the city.

But I think that's enough about my family. As much as I don't like the attention, this story is pretty much my story. And how I became a… well, 9/16th ghoul. It's kinda weird.

As I said earlier, my name is Sora. I'm a 19 year old guy with somewhat messy black hair, egg-shaped face, and a pair of mismatched eyes. But you guys knew about the mismatched eyes already. Oh, and I don't really have any muscle. Gotta remember that for when people ask me to play basketball with them. Tennis is ok-ish.

Right now, I'm a student studying biology at MIT, with a minor in East Asian Languages. Yeah I skipped a couple grades. I don't really like mentioning it. I'd like to say that I'm an average student. Unfortunately, I can't, seeing as I'm one of the younger guys in my classroom and the professors seem to love me. I don't understand why. All I do is just ask them questions about the occasional thing that doesn't make sense to me. Doesn't almost every student do that here?

That aside, I'm actually studying biology to see if I can find a connection between ghouls and humans and where the split between them happens. Maybe even find a way to make a synthesized meat that can be consumed instead of humans. Because let's face it, coexisting is a tad bit tough when the people in question happen to be predator and prey. One of the upsides of being part ghoul is that I get an interesting perspective on life, looking at both sides of ghouls and humans.

At the same time, being part ghoul does have its downsides. Not socially though. The big problem with being even a teeny bit ghoul is that you smell weird to other ghouls. Which usually means that they want to eat you. Ah the problems of having a unique flavor. Goddammit.

I didn't even know the guy was a ghoul. All I knew was that he was a new student at the start of the semester. Next thing I know, the guy, Sosei, was asking me to work with him for a group project. Normally I'd say no, just because I have trust issues when I work on group projects. One time, my economics grade almost became a B because my groupmates were downright terrible at presenting the project. However, Sosei was pretty smart, so I figured we could work together on it. Unfortunately for me, he decided the moment we were done for the day, he would drag me out to the backyard and stab me right through the stomach. Yeah sue me, I know. I should've seen it coming. Only reason I managed to survive that was because one of my ghoul cousins happened to be nearby.

Andy was always one of the smarter guys in our family. He managed to kill Sosei quickly and then make it look like it was an accident. A few moments later, the ambulance arrived and took me and Sosei's dead body to the hospital. At that point, I was pretty sure I was dead no matter what. Somehow, I managed to survive, and that's where this story starts.

* * *

I blinked for a few moments before my eyes adjusted to the light. I groaned. Light adjustment was always tough for me. Especially because my eyes are particularly sensitive.

"Oh good you're awake." A voice said.

Sitting up, I turned to the source of the voice. Andy was sitting in a chair nearby, relief written all over his face. He may have been a ghoul, but the way he acted was just as human as the rest of us.

Oh yeah. Maybe I should describe Andy so you guys can follow. Andy's this pretty tall guy, about two years older than me. He's one of those guys that girls always seem to want, with the way his eyes almost always seem to sparkle. He almost always has this really nice smile on his face. And yeah, like I said earlier, he's a ghoul. I think he's a… Bikaku? Was it? I don't remember which type he was exactly. He's actually a biology student like me as well.

Looking around, I noticed I was in a hospital bed.

"When did you get me to the hospital?" I asked.

Andy almost frowned for a moment. "After Sosei had his…accident," he said, choosing his words carefully (I knew he killed him, but we needed to be careful in a public place), "I found you guys, called 911 and they rushed you over here as quickly as possible."

It made sense. But that also brought up another question that I felt needed answering.

"How am I alive?"

I was pretty sure I was dead no matter what. Getting stabbed through the stomach like that isn't exactly beneficial to my health, and I'm pretty sure Sosei ripped out a couple of organs while he was trying to figure out what to eat first.

Andy shrugged. "You actually got pretty lucky there. You remember Doctor Kanou? The guy who gave that lecture about organ transplants last week?" I nodded, remembering that lecture. "He actually did some last second miracle and managed to save your life by transplanting some of Sosei's organs into you. I didn't see the actual process itself, but what he did saved your life."

My eyes widened for a second. What the heck? I didn't know people could pull off stuff like that. It was weird though. My shoulders felt kind of weird, but I figured that was alright. Come to think of it, the area where I was pierced feels kind of weird also. Although that might just be from the organ transplant.

"So," Andy said, "how are you feeling for a guy who just missed death?"

I frowned. "Well, my shoulders feel kind of weird, as well as the back of my waist. It's like there's something repositioning itself at my shoulder. I have no idea why though. It kind of feels like there's something that could burst out at any moment."

At those words, Andy's smile completely disappeared, being replaced by a completely serious face. I knew that face. It usually meant something bad was going on.

"Oh no. Oh no no no. He couldn't have, could he?" Andy muttered. "I knew Sosei was a ghoul, but for him to have that?"

I was confused. What was Andy talking about? Seeing my questioning gaze, Andy sighed and handed me the answers, leaning in close so no one else would hear.

"I think Dr. Kanou did more than transplant your organs. I'm pretty sure he implanted Sosei's kakuhou's, both of them, into you. Maybe by accident. It doesn't look too different from a kidney. The feeling you just described? That's what a kakuhou feels like."

"Both of them?" I asked.

Andy frowned. "I think Sosei had two. Usually ghouls only have the feeling you have in one area. That's the only explanation I can think of."

…Well… that happened.

So apparently, I'm a ghoul now. With two different kagune apparently. Time to go have a talk with the rest of my family. Hopefully we can figure something out.

* * *

**New fanfic!**

**Tokyo Ghoul is sucking away my life away (manga, not anime). The only cure… is to write. **


	2. Adjusting

**A/N: The need to type is pulling at me.**

* * *

When my mom came to pick me and Andy up from the hospital, I had to give her the story about how I was technically more ghoul than human now and wouldn't be able to eat her cooking anymore. She wasn't exactly happy with the information.

"So let me get this straight. You decide that it's a good idea do a group project, despite all your years of losing points because someone in your group didn't do something right. And the person you decide to group with turns out to be a ghoul who fancies you as a snack. How long did it take you to figure out that he was a ghoul?" she asked.

"Umm, the moment he stabbed me?" I said.

Mom rolled her eyes. "And to add to that I'm cooking for only your father now. Why does all this weird stuff happen to our family? Oh wait, we're part ghoul. That's why."

Her rant over, her face strained into a bit of a smile. "At least Andy managed to get you to the hospital in time."

Andy had relief written on his face. I can't really blame him. When mom goes on even a small tirade, it can be scary. It's even more scary when she's directing her anger at you. Thankfully enough, this was one of the extremely mild tirade. Which is kind of concerning. I honestly thought she was going to blow a fuse when she learned that not only did I almost die, but I'm also more ghoul than human now. Well, we're all part ghouls in the end, so I guess we shouldn't really be that surprised by this kind of stuff. Well, at least the news wasn't as bad as actually dying or something like that.

Now that that's out of the way, I have to wonder about what's next. Obviously, I'll still go to school, that much is given. But having a kakuhou, two to be exact, is somewhat weird for me. I guess I'll be spending more time with the ghoul side of my family. Our only blood connection may be that one great-great-grandparent, but it's not a connection that we're going to let go of anytime soon.

Andy spoke up, distracting me from my thoughts. "Aunt Yo (That's my mom's nickname)? Do you mind if Sora stays with us for a while? We're going to have to teach him how to be a ghoul."

Mom nodded in agreement. "That should be fine." She turned to my direction again. "You're fine with that, right?"

I nodded. I did need to learn this stuff. No idea what would happen if I didn't. I didn't even have to worry about class either. After getting to Andy's place, I spent a few hours (well, ten hours) finishing up a ton of assignments. My professors received my work for the next few weeks. They'd excuse me from the class for the few weeks and I'd still get credit because I was still being a diligent student despite almost dying. I even sent them a video with me explaining the effects that the organ transplant would have on my body (Of course I didn't mention that it turned me into a ghoul. No need to have the CCG hunting me down).

Andy shook his head when he saw all the work I was putting into my homework/classwork. He also thought it would be a good idea to not mention that my professors had decided to excuse me from the exam at the end of the semester (I ended up looking like a fool when I got to school, but that's a story for later).

* * *

The next day, after I had finished all that work, Andy took me underground.

Wait, maybe I should explain something else about Andy. He currently lives with my Aunt Deb and Uncle James (both ghouls), who own a modest house in the middle of the city. The only difference is, it has a door that leads to underground, where almost no one goes. It's pretty well hidden too. No one would bother to look in Andy's closet for a secret entrance.

Either way, lessons began for me. Andy didn't really bother going over ghoul biology that much, seeing as the only thing I didn't know was what a kakuhou looked like. And that was a pretty minor thing. He did go over the different type of kagune though. I never really learned the different type and how they fared against each other.

So as it turned out, there were four different kinds of kagune in general. There were the ukaku ones from the shoulders, the koukaku from the back, the rinkaku from the waist, and the bikaku from the abdomen.

Apparently there's more to the typing of each kagune.

According to Andy, I have an ukaku and a rinkaku. I figured it was already rare having two kagune, and finding out that I had two that could support each other pretty well was really nice. So disregarding strength, I would be able to either win or at least tie in a fight with someone.

My training was pretty much all physical. And by God it hurt like hell. Andy was a merciless trainer. It didn't help that I was pretty much a skinny runt before I had the operation.

The first physical day was probably the worst. Suffice to say, getting my ass handed to me over and over by my cousin was not my idea of training.

* * *

First day hunting. Or scavenging. Whatever you call it. Either way, today Andy was showing me the places where I could find suicide victims so I could eat without killing anyone, which is really helpful. I'm not sure I could stomach killing someone just to eat them. Maybe someone beyond redemption, but even then, killing them was still going to make me uneasy.

"Often when looking for suicide victims, the water is the first place we look. Lots of people jump to their deaths. It's usually not pretty. The other place to go looking for these victims is usually dark alleys. Most people don't notice the suicide victims from there, and we can usually come in and clean up the bodies before anyone notices."

After showing me all these places, Andy took me back home for my first meal.

I'll admit, it was somewhat hard getting used to the idea of eating human. Surprisingly enough, it wasn't too bad. Granted, it was weird partly because it was half-cannibalism (7/16th? Eh, technicalities), I mean, I was eating something that I used to be. The whole weirdness of it was somewhat uncomfortable, yet interesting.

Still, I would have to get used to this sooner than later.

It's going to take me years before I figure out a formula for synthesized, ghoul-edible meat.

* * *

I found myself getting into a battle-ready stance. Today, Andy was going to show me more about using my kagune. Training with Andy these last few weeks had been helpful for me. My body was able to develop a little more, so I actually had some muscle. I was pretty sure I could take on Andy. Unfortunately for me, I was in for a serious beatdown at the hands of my cousin.

Andy had spent years honing his kagune, which meant that no matter what, I was going to get whooped.

My kakugan showed itself, my left eye turning into the familiar black and red eye that all ghouls had. For some reason, my right eye didn't transform. It was weird, seeing as that was the eye that was affected by ghoul traits. I figured that my right eye was going to be a full kakugan as well, but I guess that it's not as simple as I thought. Hm. I should put some more research into this later when I have the time. Probably after I graduate.

After I willed my kakugan to show itself, I focused on my kakuhou. In the weeks after it was implanted in me, my body started adjusting to it. Eventually, my ukaku burst out, followed by my rinkaku. Turning around to look at it, I marveled at the kagune that had come into existence.

My ukaku kagune was a pair of almost angelic wings that seemed to glow a very dark purple, spreading out to more than twice my body length, while my rinkaku kagune was a set of four red tentacles. I have to admit, it looked pretty cool. Only problem was, the ukaku was too big at the moment. Thankfully enough, I figured out pretty quickly that I could shrink its size. Which was a relief. I wasn't sure I wanted to deal with oversized wings every time I brought out my ukaku. Maybe I can try gliding or flying with them. Probably later though.

So once I brought out my kagune, I turned to face Andy, who brought out his bikaku kagune. Steeling myself for the fight, I charged right in.

I didn't last very long. Maybe two minutes at most? Andy had me on my back, completely beaten. I think I had something like twenty bruises. And a huge one at the gut where Andy kept slugging me. Suffice to say, it was rather unpleasant. I don't think I want a repeat of that experience. Next day though, I was going to go back to school to take my final exams. Little did I know that I was in for a surprise.

* * *

When I got to my classroom for my biology final, I was met with a ton of stares. Including one from my professor.

"Umm, why is everyone staring at me?" I asked.

The professor just stared. "I thought you got the message that you didn't have to take your exams?"

I stared for a second before his words registered. "What?"

The professor explained. "You're excused from all of your finals. Didn't your cousin Andy tell you? You were so far in on your assignments AND you did more than the class required. Mind you, you did this for all your classes so that's why you're excused. All of us are pretty sure you know your material."

On the outside, I managed to keep myself composed. On the inside though, I was very much tempted to go home to try and murder Andy for not telling me. Probably wouldn't get away with it though. He'd probably beat me down without breaking a sweat.

Before I left, the professor stopped me. "The dean wanted to talk to you when you got back to school. I would suggest you go to his office."

Going over to the dean's office, I wonder what he wanted to talk about. Walking to the door, I knocked on it, waiting for the dean to respond.

"Enter." A voice said.

Walking in, I saw that the dean had just put down an opened envelope.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" I asked.

The dean nodded, a small smile on his face. "Sora, how would you like to be a foreign exchange student?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

He explained. "Kamii University, one of the best in Japan, is opening up their foreign exchange program. I figured that you would be one of the best candidates for the program, seeing as you have your minors in East Asian Languages already. They also have a very strong biology program and Dr. Kanou lives in that area, so you can learn a bit from him as well."

I think that sealed the deal for me. I've always wanted to go to Japan, and the opportunity that was just given to me seemed like a perfect one. To top it off, Dr. Kanou was there as well, and I honestly admire him as a doctor. He's really smart, and he saved my life. The only concern over there was eating. And the CCG. I've heard that the CCG's strongest base is in Japan, which means that I'm going to have to be extremely careful. The ones over here in the US are more lax. The ghouls here are very low-key. There's the occasional ghoul here and there that hunts when it shouldn't, but other than that we're a very quiet country. Maybe I can ask Andy if there's a ghoul organization there that helps new ghouls fit in.

I accepted the offer. How could I not? It was such a sweet deal.

I had no idea so many huge crazy events were going to happen in Japan.

* * *

"Anteiku?" I asked.

Andy nodded. "They're the organization that manages ghoul life in the 20th Ward, where Kamii is located. It's pretty easy to find. You'll want to go there for most, if not all of your needs."

"Alright. Anything else to know?"

"I'm going to call one of my cousins in Japan. He can help you find a place to stay."

I snorted. "Andy, I'm pretty sure I'm capable of finding my own residence."

Andy shook his head. "Not in Tokyo. You have to be careful not to live too close to the CCG. There's a bunch of things you can do to make things easier on yourself so the CCG doesn't hone in on you."

Taking his word for it, I sighed. Guess it'll take a while to adjust to things.

Well, Japan, here I come.

* * *

**The prelude is done! We're finally getting into the Tokyo Ghoul storyline. This is going to be a new experience for me, writing-wise. My previous fanfics were all AU or set after the events of said universe, so doing this is going to be a new challenge for me.**


	3. Welcome to Anteiku

**A/N: I'm enjoying writing this. That is all.**

* * *

When I finally arrived at the baggage claim in Japan (Man I'm tired. Really hope I adjust to the timezone soon), I grabbed my bags and walked out of the airport. I have to admit, it's not as crowded as I thought it would be. I tried looking for my cousin, but I couldn't find him. All of a sudden, my nose picked up a scent that smelled somewhat like Andy. Following the scent, I came upon a tall man who looked kind of like Andy.

"Are you Andy's cousin?" I asked him.

Turning to my voice, the guy blinked for a few seconds before sighing in relief.

"You're Sora, right?" I nodded. "That's good. I was starting to worry that your flight might have been delayed." He extended his hand. "I'm Riku. And before you ask, yes my parents were huge fans of Kingdom Hearts. I feel your pain, fellow victim."

I had to try hard to not laugh. I mean, I sympathized with him, seeing as we were both victims of parents who loved Kingdom Hearts, but finding another person like me in that sense was somewhat funny.

I got into the taxi with Riku, who gave an address to the driver. Turns out, the driver was a ghoul. Thankfully enough, he was a rather docile one (suicide eater, I thought), so he didn't mock me for not hunting like other ghouls. As he drove, Riku started explaining things to me.

"I found you a small condo where you can stay at. (I sighed in relief. At least I wouldn't have to worry about paying for rent). It's a nice place that's only a short walk to Kamii University. You won't have to worry about how to get to Kamii unless you somehow injure your leg beyond repair. And don't worry about the pay, your parents already paid for it, including some furniture that you can adjust as necessary."

I have to admit, I didn't think that Riku would be this prepared. I couldn't help but think that there was something missing though. I have no idea what was missing.

Later, when we finally got to the condo, I took my luggage in. Riku shook my hand.

"Good luck Sora. Kamii is just over that way." Riku said, pointing. I could just make out the university in the distance. As he left, I relaxed, feeling comfortable with this program. As I was just about to lay down for a nap, my eyes snapped open.

Shit. Where's Anteiku?

* * *

My feet dragged me over to Kamii University. While I didn't need to eat for another week or so, I knew that I was thoroughly screwed if I didn't find Anteiku. While I knew I could try asking people where Anteiku was, I didn't actually know what it was. All I knew was that it was an organization trying to benefit ghouls in the 20th ward. So for all I knew, it could be something secret that needed to stay hidden. My thoughts were interrupted a moment later when I saw two boys, one blonde, the other with black hair, waving at me. Somewhat confused, I walked over.

"Hey, you're the foreign exchange student, right?" the blonde guy asked.

I nodded. He continued on. "That's great. I'm Hideyoshi Nagachika. But you can call me Hide for short. This shy guy over here is Kaneki. He's a bit of a nerd."

"Hide! I'm not a nerd." Kaneki complained.

"With your head in books almost all the time, you might as well be one, you know." Hide said. "Oh but where are my manners?" Turning to me, he said "We're actually here to show you around the Kamii campus. Have you gotten your schedule yet?"

I nodded. It was actually in the mailbox when I arrived at my condo. Taking out my schedule, I showed it to Hide.

"Hey, we have Asian History together. Nice! I can show you around before class starts, how does that sound?"

Really seeing no other choice, I agreed to his demands. Hide was sort of a chatterbox. I'll be honest, I've never dealt with those kinds of guys before, so I don't really know what to expect.

Kaneki on the other hand, seems a bit more like me. Before I could make any more analyses, Hide interrupted my thoughts.

"Ok so two questions for you: First, what's up with your eyes, and second, what's your name?"

"Hide, that's rude!"

I smacked myself. I completely forgot to introduce myself to him. Addressing the questions in order, I replied "Heterochromia is what's up with my eyes. As for my name, it's Sora. Sora Chao. And before you ask, my parents were Kingdom Hearts fanatics back when I was born, so that's how I got my name."

Hide was a bit confused. "Heterochromia?"

Kaneki was quick on the explanation. "Heterochromia is a condition where someone is born with different color eyes."

"See Kaneki, what did I tell you? You're a nerd!" Hide said.

"Hide!"

* * *

"And that's the biology wing, where a lot of your classes will be. Any questions?" Hide asked.

I shook my head. Hide was really thorough in his tour of Kamii. I may have had him pegged as a chatterbox, but there was no doubt that Hide was also really intelligent. Kaneki was as well (I later learned that his first name was actually Ken), but he just didn't show it as much.

"Well, onto the Asian History class. C'mon, let's go."

When we finally got to the classroom, Hide opened the door.

"Ah, Nagachika. Right on time. Is that the foreign exchange student?" The professor asked.

Hide nodded. Turning towards me, he prompted. "Go on, introduce yourself."

Internally, I sweated. I never really liked public speaking in any form. I did run for class office back in high school, and while my speech was really good, I was still a nervous wreck during it.

Stepping up to the front of the class, I introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Sora Chao. I'm the foreign exchange student from the United States. I'm from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I was majoring in biology with a minor in East Asian Languages. Please take good care of me." I finished, bowing down.

The rest of the day passed without incident, thankfully enough. While I ended up introducing myself in every single class, it wasn't too bad. The only slight problem I had was that people asked me a lot of questions after class about how the US was like. I gave them the general idea, but even then, some of the students still tried to socialize with me, which made me pretty uncomfortable.

One of the students, I think his name was Nishiki, took an increased interest in me. Thankfully we just ended up discussing a lot of stuff related to biology, with him taking particular interest in my organ transplant. I couldn't really blame him. Since we're both biology students, it's always a great topic of discussion when something related to the field of medicine or biology comes up.

I think the only other person I managed to tolerate during that time besides Hide and Ken was this one girl. If I remember correctly, her name was Mika.

"Hey Sora!"

Yep, it was Mika. Mika Shiraishi. She's also a biology student. As it turns out, she's a pretty small girl, with black hair going down to above her shoulders in a bob cut. She also had a dark blue highlight on her left side. She's somewhat small, but not downright short. Maybe about half a head shorter than me?

She also smells pretty nice. Not in a food way, mind you.

Turning to her voice, I replied. "Yeah Mika?" Deep down, I was wondering what she wanted to talk about.

"Want me to take you around the city? I thought I might show you around." She asked.

Tempting as it was, I shook my head. "Maybe later. It's still my first day here, so I still need some time to adjust to my new living space. Maybe next week?"

Somewhat disappointed, Mika left. Somewhat relieved, I walked on, wondering what I was going to do when I got home. My stomach answered the question for me.

Hunting time.

* * *

As I observed from the top of a building, I had to wonder where I could find suicide victims. It didn't help that I didn't know the area well enough, and simply asking where most people committed suicide was also a bad idea. I mean, let's face it. Everyone would look at me morbidly.

To this day I still haven't killed anyone. It's a bit disconcerting, but as a ghoul, I knew that one day, I might have to kill someone to eat. I really hoped it didn't come to that. While I've accepted that I have to eat humans to live, I still need to adjust to the fact that I've got the body composition of a creature meant to kill and eat humans.

As I was about to jump to another roof (thank Andy for all that physical training), my ears picked up on a small scream in the alley. Curious, I jumped down, and walked down the direction of the sound. As I turned the corner, I saw a rather foul man trying to take advantage of a girl. She looked like a high school student, and was showing a rather unnecessary amount of leg (seriously girl, showing that much leg is like begging to be taken advantage of). As I willed my kakugan into existence and prepared to beat down the man, the man turned towards me. Before I could proceed with said beating though, the upper part of his head was separated from the rest of his body.

As the body fell to the ground, I could see the girl's kakugan active. I'll be honest, I didn't expect her to be a ghoul. Come to think of it though, it makes some sense. She can lure people to her to eat when she needs to. Pretty smart of her.

"Man, I didn't even mean to kill him. And I'm not even hungry. Oh well, I'll just take an arm. Old man meat is gross."

Ok, maybe she just likes wearing those clothes.

As I was standing there shocked, the girl turned towards me. "What, do you want some?"

Forcing myself to move, I nodded before taking a bit of meat. "Thanks. My hunger was starting to get at me."

She nodded. She probably understood what I meant. Most ghouls did. Before she could leave though, I stopped her. I figured I could ask her where Anteiku was, seeing as she was a ghoul.

"Wait, do you know where Anteiku is?"

Turning towards me, she observed my face for a few seconds.

"Are you new here?" She asked.

I nodded. "I'm a foreign exchange student from America. My cousin told me that if I needed any help with my hunger, I could go to Anteiku."

The girl looked at me curiously. "I work at Anteiku. But why do you need help from us? You can hunt, can't you?"

I shifted my toes, somewhat embarrassed. "It's not that I can't, it's just that I've never actually hunted before."

She stared at my incredulously. "What?"

I sighed. "It's a long story. I can tell you on the way to Anteiku."

After a few more moments of silence, the girl sighed, before reaching out to shake my hand. "I'm Touka."

"Sora."

* * *

After explaining my story to her, Touka was confused.

"So let me get this straight. You used to be 1/16th ghoul, and then you got assaulted by a ghoul. After your cousin Andy killed the ghoul, he managed to get you to the hospital where a doctor, a doctor from Japan no less, managed to save your life by transplanting some organs, which included two different kakuhou. And this somehow turns you into a ghoul. After you turn into a ghoul, Andy decides to teach you about being a ghoul but DOESN'T teach you how to hunt? Just because the ghoul side of your family only eats suicide victims?"

I nodded.

"Do you have any idea how ludicrous that sounds?" she asked me.

I nodded again. "Absolutely. But every single part of the story is true, believe it or not."

"You don't seem like a liar, but this is just hard to believe."

This is why I don't usually share this story.

As we walked in front of a coffee shop, Touka stopped.

"We're here." She said.

Looking up, I saw the sign Anteiku on the front of the coffee shop. No way. Anteiku's a coffee shop? And here I was thinking that it was some sort of secret organization that plotted stuff in the sewers or something. Nothing like a good ol' reality check to keep you on your toes.

"No way."

"What?"

"Anteiku is a coffee shop?"

Touka rolled her eyes. "What did you expect?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Something more conspicuous. I thought it was a super secret organization or something like that. This is what I get for not asking Riku where Anteiku is."

Touka turned her head to me. "You know Riku?"

I nodded. "Cousin."

Touka just stood there for a moment before she started laughing.

"What?" I asked, somewhat indignant.

She didn't respond to me, just laughing at how dumb I sounded at that moment. And honestly, it was pretty stupid of me.

After she had gained her composure, Touka opened the door to Anteiku.

Even though the shop was closed, Touka walked in. Following right behind her, I looked around. It's a really nice place. One of the faces I saw ticked me off somewhat.

"Riku."

Riku looked over, his waiter uniform looking very well-fit on him. "Hey Sora. Glad to see you made it."

"You couldn't just tell me where Anteiku was?" I asked, somewhat indignant.

Riku shrugged. "I may have forgotten to mention it when I went over your housing (The nerve!)." Turning over to the stairs, he shouted. "Oi, manager. My cousin's here."

An old man walked down the stairs, wearing the same uniform that everyone else in the shop was wearing. Walking up to me, he shook my hand.

"Welcome to Anteiku, I'm Yoshimura, the manager here. You must be Sora, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "My cousin told me to come here if I needed food."

"Your cousin is correct. However, there's something that I would like to suggest that you do in return for food."

I was interested. Something he wanted me to do? "What is it?"

"How would you like to work here at Anteiku?" he asked. "Just as a part-time job. You don't have to worry about hunting, and you do a little bit of work to pay me back for the food."

Logically speaking, Yoshimura was making sense, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt to do so. "Sure. I guess it's fair."

"Then welcome to Anteiku."

Once we finished going over all the details, another problem presented itself to me.

"Umm, I don't know how to get home from here." I said.

"Where do you live?" Yoshimura asked.

"Near Kamii University."

"In that case, one of my workers can help you find directions to there." Yoshimura said. "She's actually just about to leave, so you can go with her in a few moments."

Going upstairs, Yoshimura came down a few moments later with a package of food for me and the worker who was getting off. A worker that I had met just earlier today when I was at Kamii University.

Looking at the worker, my brain could only process one question: How is it that so many people I meet are ghouls?

"This is Mika," Yoshimura said. "She should be able to help you find your way back to Kamii. You'll learn the area soon enough though."

Mika smiled. "Nice to see you again, Sora."

* * *

**I could let this chapter run on for even longer, but I think this is a good place to stop. Don't expect updates this frequently. I only pulled this one off because I had finished my homework really early and had time to write.**


	4. Fitting In

**A/N: In case you're wondering, everything I post is un-proofread.**

* * *

As Mika and I walked home, we had a bit to talk about.

"So you're a ghoul?" Mika asked.

I nodded. I seemed to be getting that question a lot from people.

"It's weird. You smell like a human also. Do you spend a ton of time with them?" Mika asked.

I shook my head. "It's a lot more complicated than that."

So once again, I was explaining my story to someone. Thankfully enough, Mika took it much better than Touka did. Granted, she still had some things to say.

"That's a weird story." She said.

I rolled my eyes. "You'd think that already being part ghoul would be weird, but nooo I just had to have my organs ripped out by a ghoul that thought I would taste delicious. And to top it all off, the doctor that saves my life ends up turning me into a ghoul by accident. How's that for weird?"

Mika giggled. "It certainly is a strange story. I mean, being part ghoul is weird enough. But all that stuff just makes this almost seem like a fairy tale."

"Most fairy tales don't really involve blood and gore." I pointed out. "Well, children fairy tales don't. The Brothers Grimm had some of the bloodiest stories that I've ever seen."

"Oh? How bloody are we talking about?" Mika asked.

I thought for a moment. "Hmm, we have stories where cannibalism, infanticide and face-eating happen. Not to mention burning houses when people are still in them. (That doesn't feel as bloody though. Maybe more charring.)"

Mika grinned. "I'd love to read it then."

"Oh?" I asked, turning to her. "Didn't take you for that kind of reader."

"Clearly you still need to learn more about the local culture. Horror is really fun." She said.

"Yep. Definitely need to. By the way, of the people that I ran into today, how many were ghouls?"

"You mean besides the people at Anteiku?" she asked. After receiving confirmation from me, she continued. "Well, Nishiki is a ghoul also ("Wait, Nishiki?" "Yes, our classmate Nishiki."), and he's pretty territorial about his hunting grounds. As in 'he will murder you if he finds you in his territory' territorial. And that includes at school."

"And he tolerates you being at school with him?" I asked.

Mika smiled (Man those teeth are bright. And I thought mine were super clean). "He knows that I'm there as a student, just like him. Maybe I should tell him about you also. That way he doesn't get any wrong ideas."

Well, it'd definitely suck for me if I were to die due to some small dispute over who gets to eat someone, so I think this works well for me.

"That'd probably be a good idea. I don't even hunt."

Mika raised an eyebrow. "Can't you?"

I shrugged. "Well it's not like I ate humans before I got my surgery, and since then, it's pretty much been all scavenging for me. It's still a bit weird thinking about how I might start hunting people to eat them."

Mika frowned. "You should probably learn just in case you have to. Do you even know how to use your kagune?"

"I've had a couple weeks of practice with my kagune. Nothing that intense."

She rolled her eyes (What did I do?). "That just won't do. You'll really need to get into using your kagune in case some big-shot comes after you. Speaking of which, what is your kagune?"

"Umm, the ones that were implanted into me were an ukaku and a rinkaku."

Mika raised her eyebrow. "I've heard of only one person with that mix of kagune. Sosei was the one who tried to eat you?"

I nodded. "How'd you know?"

"He was pretty famous to both ghouls and doves over here. His nickname was 'Angel' because of his ukaku. He was an S-rated ghoul, so the fact that your cousin Andy managed to kill him is pretty impressive." She said.

I laughed. "Andy's been training his bikaku for years. He even had a martial arts instructor teach him before he learned to refine his techniques with his kagune. You won't find many people, even ukaku ghouls, who have a chance against him. He's just that strong. That and Sosei was a tad bit too busy trying to figure out which organ of mine he wanted to eat first."

"Even so, Sosei had a pretty strong kagune." Mika said.

"How strong are we talking about?" I asked.

"Well, he could fly." She said.

I stopped for a moment. "Flying? I thought kagune were too dense to fly."

"Not really. Ukaku's are pretty light, and Sosei's control over his kagune was really refined."

"So in theory, I could fly." I summarized.

Mika shrugged. "Maybe. Flying in itself is already tricky, and Sosei wasn't perfect at it."

Before I could say anything, my nose picked up the scent of food. "Someone's hunting nearby." I said, walking to the source. Mika followed, although I had the feeling she didn't really want to.

As we were about to turn a corner, I saw a familiar body fly back and fall onto the ground, back-first. Groaning, the ghoul got up.

"Nishiki?" I asked.

Turning to the voice, Nishiki looked over to see me and Mika just standing there.

"Sora, what are you doing here? And why is Mika with you?" he asked.

Before I could reply, Mika cut in. "I was showing him the way back to Kamii. He only lives a few minutes from there. And by the way, Sora is a ghoul also."

The last part caught Nishiki's interest, as he turned his head towards me. "Really now? You smell human."

I nodded. "It's a long story."

Nishiki sighed. "I just lost my hunting ground to a scary bitch, so I might as well hear you out for now."

"You just lost your hunting ground to someone?" Mika asked.

Nishiki nodded. "The binge-eater. Rize."

"Umm, who?" I asked.

Mika explained. "There's a new ghoul that just came to this area. Her name's Rize Kamishiro. And just as Nishiki said, she's a binge eater. She eats almost daily."

My eyes widened a bit. "That's a lot of hunting."

Mika nodded. "She likes having a full stomach. Best not to interrupt her. She's a ridiculously strong ghoul. Come on Nishiki, let's go."

Nishiki grumbled. "I'll have to figure out some other way to eat now. Damn woman, taking my territory."

Regardless, he decided to walk with us. "You said something about a long story?" he asked me.

Once again, I found myself retelling my story to him. Mika just listened, having already heard the story before.

"I'm sorry, but do you have any idea how ludicrous that sounds?" Nishiki asked.

I facepalmed. "Touka said pretty much the exact same thing when I told her. Yes, I have an idea of how ludicrous it sounds. I wouldn't have believed it myself unless I actually lived it."

"Yeah but where's your proof?" Nishiki asked.

After checking to make sure no one could see me (Last thing I want is the CCG hunting me down just because they saw my eye), I turned towards Nishiki and showed him my kakugan. After satisfying himself with the fact that I had proof, Nishiki asked another question.

"Is your right eye a result of your heritage?" he asked.

I nodded. "I've actually had it since I was born. My right eye is literally part-kakugan. I'm still trying to figure out why I have it and the rest of my family doesn't. It doesn't make sense to me."

Nishiki frowned. "That is interesting. I've never actually heard of one-eye ghouls, let alone someone who only has the pupil of the kakugan, and not the sclera. It's an interesting concept."

Mika interrupted our conversation. "As interesting as this biology talk is, can we save it for another time? We're about to reach Kamii."

Turning my head forward, I blinked for a second before I recognized the road.

"My condo is just over that way." I pointed.

Stopping in front of the condo, we said our goodbyes for now.

"See you in class tomorrow Sora!" Mika said.

"We'll definitely talk about this more." Nishiki said with a smile. The conversation had sparked an interest in the topic in both of us.

I waved goodbye to them and walked in. Shrugging off my jacket, I hung it on the coat rack before plopping down on the table. Before I fell asleep, I decided to start setting up my laptop on my desk (Sue me, I didn't bother setting it up until now. I blame laziness), before noticing a small notebook. Opening up the notebook, the first thing I noticed on there was Anteiku's address, as well as directions to there.

…Someone shoot me.

* * *

The next morning, I was still sulking as I went to school. I mean, seriously. How did I miss that notebook my first night? All I needed to do was look at that notebook and I would have known the directions to Anteiku. It wasn't even hidden for crying out loud! It was just on the desk, waiting there for me to look at it.

Coming up on school, I noticed Nishiki and Mika waiting for me. I caught up to them a few moments later and we continued off our conversation from last night. Well, we'd rather talk about that, but unfortunately for us, we're sort of in a public place so talking about it is a bad idea at the moment.

"Hey Sora, why do you look so devastated?" Mika asked.

I grumbled. "You know how I had trouble finding Anteiku last night? Riku left a notebook on my desk with directions to Anteiku before I landed in Japan."

Mika stared for a moment before laughing her head off (not literally. That'd be weird). Nishiki just smirked.

"You're an idiot, aren't you?" Nishiki asked.

"…Sometimes." I admitted. "But enough about that. Anything going on today besides the stuff we have to do in class?"

Nishiki shrugged. "Not really. I have plans later, but that's not related to anything you're doing."

Mika came up with an idea. "How about I take you around the city? Your first day of work is tomorrow, so you can spend today getting familiar with the city, maybe do some other stuff also."

That… sounds like a pretty good idea. "Why not?" I said. "I'll need to know the area eventually."

"Sweet! Meet me at the entrance after classes."

Nothing like a good expedition around a new city.

* * *

After school, Mika took me around to a couple of shops, as well as a few bookstores where I found a collection of stories from the Brothers Grimm for her. She was pretty happy about getting them. After that, we idly wandered around the city for a bit before Mika remembered something.

"Oh that's right! The manager asked me to take you to the guy that makes masks for us." She said.

I looked at her curiously. "Why? It's not like I'm going to hunt or tango with the CCG, right?"

Mika fixed me with a stare. "It's a precaution."

"Oh, right." It made sense I guess. Wait a moment, there was a new ghoul that came here just recently (besides me, of course). I don't remember her name (Was it Reeze?), but Mika and Nishiki both mentioned that she was a binge-eater. And considering the fact that the 20th Ward is peaceful for the most part, the addition of a not-so-peaceful person like her might cause the CCG to come searching this way.

"So where are going then?" I asked.

Mika grabbed my hand and pulled me down the sidewalk. "This way!"

"Whoa wait a— ahhh!"

I think she might have been a bit too excited.

* * *

"Uta! You in?" Mika shouted.

Mika had dragged me all the way to the mask shop from the bookstore. I didn't even know it was possible to drag someone that fast. Or dislocate someone's shoulder by dragging someone by the arm. I think my shoulder's fine now, but man that hurt.

As we walked into the shop, I took some time to marvel at the insides of the shop. While it wasn't the most tidy place I had ever seen, the detail in every single mask in the shop was amazing. While some of them were pretty simple in design, the detail in some of the other ones were amazing. But I'm losing focus. Where is the guy?

"You think he went home?" I asked.

"Nah, he's around here somewhere." Mika replied.

Oh, ok. That's reassuring. Where could he be then? This place doesn't look like it has anywhere for the guy to hide. Unless… that sheet over there.

I walked over to this suspicious looking white sheet covering something. He couldn't be under here could he?

"Boo!"

Goddammit I was right.

* * *

After introductions came along, Uta started taking my measurements.

"Do you have any allergies to metals or rubbers?" he asked.

"No."

"Color preferences?"

"Anything that isn't flashy."

"So you want a more simple design for your mask?"

I nodded. I hated sticking out like a sore thumb. Granted, I already stuck out with my eyes before, but that was a minor thing. Add to the fact that having Sosei's kagune really screwed me over in terms of being subtle (for the love of God his ukaku is freaking purple. Could you be any less subtle?), and something more simple was definitely on my mind.

"Anything else?" Uta asked.

I thought for a moment before something popped up in my head. "Could you put a covering on my right eye so that others can't see in but I can see out?"

"Hmm, interesting request. Why though?"

I explained. "My right eye would give me away if people got a good look on it, so I'd rather have that hidden away from their sight."

"Hmm. Makes sense. By the way, do you have any things you like?" he asked.

"Is this relevant to the mask-making?"

"Very. It helps me visualize when I'm making the mask."

I sighed before answering his question. "I really like classical music. I've always been fascinated by it since I was a little boy."

"Thanks you very much, I do believe I have everything I need to know now." Uta said.

* * *

After we left, Mika and I headed off to Anteiku for a cup of coffee. As we walked in, I was suddenly greeted by a loud voice.

"Sora! I never thought I'd see you here."

Oh look, it's Hide and Kaneki. Never thought I'd see them in a coffee shop for ghouls. Granted, they don't actually know that Anteiku mainly serves ghouls, but yeah, it's weird seeing them here.

I smiled. "Nice to see you too. What are you doing here?"

"Me? Having a cup of coffee, maybe finding a cute girl to ask out, who knows? Oh, and trying to figure out which girl here Kaneki has a crush on in the shop."

I'll admit, I was incredulous. "You have a crush on one of the workers?"

Kaneki turned red in embarrassment. "No! She just goes to this shop frequently."

Ah, that makes more sense. Mika and I went to find a seat. Touka came over to take our order before going over to Kaneki and Hide. Hide scared her off though. I don't get it. Does Hide really think he can pick up girls by asking if they have a boyfriend? Smart as he is, he's completely hopeless when it comes to women (not that I'm that much better).

The next moment, another customer came in. Judging from her looks, I'd say this is the girl that Kaneki was talking about. Over at their table, I could see Hide giving Kaneki some sort of talk. Not sure what it was about though. A moment later, as I was sipping my coffee, I noticed Mika staring at the girl.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"That's Rize."

* * *

**Annnnnd scene.**

**Man I need to figure out how to time my chapter endings better. **


	5. Hospital Madness

**A/N: Right into the chapter leggo**

* * *

"That's Rize?" I asked. "The binge-eater who pretty much kicked Nishiki off of his hunting grounds last night?"

Mika nodded. "The one and the same. She's taken the hunting grounds of tons of people in the few days that she's been here."

"And apparently Kaneki is enamored with her." I noted.

Mika nodded. "Apparently. Do you want to tell him?"

I frowned. While it would be a good idea to warn him about her, there was just one problem with the entire thing.

"Would there be any way for me to explain to him how I know without blowing my cover?" I asked.

Mika frowned. Unfortunately, I was right. Telling Kaneki that Rize was a ghoul would be a good idea, but we didn't have any solid proof to back it up without revealing our own identities as ghouls. Or mine, but yeah. You get the idea. We were just going to have to sit around and hope Rize didn't eat him.

All of a sudden I heard him shout.

"I absolutely love Sen Takatsuki!"

Ah crap, she's homing in on him. He's probably dead. Someone save that poor fellow, because I for one do not want to mess with a binge-eater. They're way too scary for me. And if past trends hold, they're also ridiculously strong also. At least that's what Andy says.

Mika, who was still watching the scene play out, whispered to me. "Maybe we can find a way to rescue him later? Like right before she eats him?"

I shrugged. "We can try, but I'm not sure how well we'd do against her."

Mika raised her eyebrow. "You scared?"

"Hey, it hasn't even been about two months since I became a ghoul. Give me a break. I'm not ready to tango with someone who might decide that I'm a good meal."

A new voice entered the conversation. "Mika! So nice to see you here. But why aren't you working?"

Mika and I both turned our heads at the same time to see Rize talking to Mika. Thankfully enough, Mika and I knew how to keep our composure. Even in the face of scary people like her.

"I'm showing this guy the area. He just came here as a foreign exchange student a couple of days ago." Mika explained.

Turning to me, Rize extended her hand. "Pleasure to meet you. My name's Rize."

Taking her hand, I managed to keep calm. "I'm Sora."

After we shook hands, she continued to stare at me. "Umm, can I help you with anything?"

Rize shook her head for a second. "I'm sorry. For a second you smelled like my cousin."

"Your… cousin?" I asked. I couldn't help but wonder. Was Rize somehow related to my family, albeit very distantly?

"My cousin Sosei." Rize replied. "It's really weird. You smell somewhat like him, but you don't at the same time. You can't be him though. He's in Massachusetts right now as a student."

Oh. Well, shit. That would explain her staring. Should I break it to her that her cousin is dead? At the hands of my cousin? I really don't want to become a victim of revenge. Not really my idea of how I die.

"Should I tell her?" I mouthed to Mika.

Before she could reply, Rize made her way to leave. "Whatever, it doesn't matter. I'll be seeing you around Mika."

With that, she left. The moment she left, Mika and I both breathed a sigh of relief. We were joined a second later by Touka, who was on break.

"Is something wrong?" Touka asked.

"You mean besides the fact that one of the first guys that I met when I transferred to Kamii is about to get eaten and I don't even feel like doing anything about it?" I asked. I mean, I honestly didn't. While a bit of it was my sense of self-preservation, the other fact remained that I didn't really know the guy that well. He was just a classmate to me. Sometimes I wondered if other people even noticed that he existed.

Touka frowned. "Not what I was talking about. Something else seemed to be bothering you."

I sighed. No dodging around telling her. "You know how I got a ghoul's kakuhou transplanted into me?"

Touka nodded. She remembered that much from our conversation last night.

"The ghoul in question was Rize's cousin, Sosei."

Her eyes widened a bit at that information. "So that's what's bothering you." She said. "Sosei was the guy who tried to eat you?"

I nodded. "What about it?"

"I'm sorry, it's just hard to believe that Sosei, of all people, had such a weird thing happen to him."

Something about what she said caught my attention. "You admired Sosei didn't you?"

"Somewhat," Touka admitted. "But it was more about how much I admired how strong he was as an ukaku ghoul. While most ukaku's like me can leap pretty big distances, Sosei's flying made him unique among us."

So that was it. Made sense.

"But that aside, I'm actually somewhat curious about you." Touka said.

I shrugged. "There's not much to know, really."

Mika piped up. "I'm actually pretty curious about you also. The only things you've told us are your family history and what it was like for you when you got the transplant."

Oh dammit not you too Mika. Ah, fine. "Anything you want to know in particular?"

Touka asked the first question. "Well, for starters, what are you planning to major in?"

Ah, this one is an easy one. "Well, I'm majoring in biology with a minor in East Asian Languages."

The next question wasn't really as simple for me. "Why biology?" Mika asked.

"Well, I'm trying to figure out where the split between ghouls and humans begins. I mean, what was it in the evolutionary cycle that brought forth both humans and ghouls? The other reason is mostly because I'm trying to figure out a solution for synthesizing meat that we can eat."

This caught Touka's attention. "Synthesized meat?" she asked.

I nodded. "That's really the only way that we can start the steps towards coexistence. Because let's face it, living in peace is somewhat tough when you can't eat anything but the people you live in peace with. That and there aren't enough suicide victims to go around."

The two of them pondered this information for a while. I don't blame them. For a race that has to hide their true nature almost every single day, figuring out a way to break the figurative wall to peace was a prospect that most people would appreciate, but find impossible.

"Any other questions?" I asked.

They sat there for a bit longer before Touka asked another question. "Do you think you could tutor me in my schoolwork?" she asked.

I raised my eyebrow. People asking me to tutor them was actually a pretty regular occurrence for me. I actually remember tutoring some of my younger cousins in high school. But Touka asking was something I didn't really expect, mainly because Touka didn't really give off the vibe that she ever needed help with anything. Nonetheless, nothing wrong with tutoring her.

"Anything in particular you need help with?" I asked.

Touka shifted a bit in embarrassment. "Umm, math, literature and science."

I frowned. Two of those I could handle. The third one I wasn't really good at teaching.

"I can help you with the math and science, but you're going to have find a different tutor for literature."

Touka sighed in relief. "That's fine. I'll take whatever help I can get. So when do we start?"

I thought for a moment. Picking a time to tutor someone was always a hassle, seeing as both student and tutor would have to find some sort of schedule that worked out for them. Wait a moment, we're coworkers. We can just match our break times during work and I can take those times to tutor her. Huh. That'll work perfectly.

"How about anytime we're on break from work. Seeing as I'm starting work tomorrow, I can help you with your schoolwork once I take a break. They happen frequently enough, so I can tutor you during those times. If you need more tutoring, we can schedule more sessions later." I said.

Touka's expression brightened. "Thanks! I'll bring my study material here then."

Yoshimura called Touka over to tell her that her break was over. After Touka got back to work, Mika and I just sat at the table looking outside for a bit longer.

"Sora, have you ever had a girlfriend?" Mika asked.

I turned to her, confused by the sudden question. "Why?"

Mika shrugged. "No reason. Just curious."

That's technically a reason, but I should be fine. It's a weird question, but one that's really not that embarrassing for me.

"Nope. No girlfriends ever." I said. No boyfriends either. Let's just make things clear, I do NOT swing that way.

Mika raised an eyebrow. "You never lived a regular life, did you?"

I'll admit, I found that funny that. I laughed. "I was born 1/16th ghoul. I was never normal to begin with."

"Fair enough." Mika conceded.

"How about you?" I asked. "Any boyfriends?"

Mika looked completely flustered. "W-What?" she stuttered. "Why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "You ask me, I ask you. Fair trade?" I mean, it's not like I didn't want to ask them any questions. It seemed sort of unfair if I was the only one answering questions.

Mika made a pout, which I'll admit I found somewhat cute. It was nice not being on the receiving end of what was practically an interrogation.

"Alright fine, what do you want to know?" She asked. "Besides the boyfriend thing. The answer to that is no."

Well, that's one question out of the way. I think I'll sate my curiosity with a couple of other questions. Nothing downright embarrassing or sensitive for her. Ghouls don't always have the best of stories.

"Anything you do for fun?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I read horror stories. I always get a kick out of those. Oh, and watching cannibalism is actually kind of interesting."

I'll admit, I found that a tad bit disturbing. "Cannibalism?"

Mika explained. "You don't see it here in the 20th ward, but over in the other wards, cannibalism occurs pretty frequently."

I raised my eyebrow. "Is there any reason to it besides being a food source?" For the life of me the only reason I could imagine ghouls eating each other is if the human population in a ward took a drastic hit.

"Cannibalism makes ghouls stronger."

…Eh?

"You want to try it sometime?" Mika asked.

I frowned. "Maybe. I'll consider it."

I might need it in the future. Although technically, no matter what I eat, it's still cannibalism. Oh the irony of it all.

Something tells me that Mika mentioned cannibalism on purpose to distract me from asking questions. I'll just say this: It worked.

* * *

It was later in the night when Mika and I finally started on our way home. Thankfully, tomorrow was practically a free day minus biology, so I could sleep in for a bit.

Once we reached my condo and Mika and I said goodbye, I walked straight to my computer to browse for more articles in the field of biology. None of them really caught my attention, until I noticed in the breaking news section about an organ transplant done without the family consent.

I frowned. Normally, these sorts of cases weren't really seen that often. Clicking on the article in question, I found that the said performer of organ transplant was Dr. Kanou (what are the odds?), and that the donor in question was dead on arrival in the hospital.

Thankfully enough, the life of the person in question was saved, which I guess made it all worth it. That reminds me, I need to go see Dr. Kanou sometime to thank him for saving my life.

Seeing nothing else, I fell asleep.

* * *

The next day when I got to Kamii, I was greeted by Hide. No Kaneki though. Weird. I thought the two of them were practically inseparable.

"Where's Kaneki?" I asked.

Hide frowned. "He's in the hospital right now."

Now that was concerning. "Really now? What happened?"

Hide explained. Apparently he was involved in a steel beam accident and had to be rushed to the hospital, where his life was saved when a doctor performed an organ transplant on the spot to stabilize him.

Well, at least it explains the article that I read last night regarding the organ transplant. Dr. Kanou is really good at these last-minute life-saving operations apparently.

Huh. Maybe I'll visit him later. It's going to take a couple of weeks for him to recover at least. I do remember it took me that long before the hospital let me go free. That and maybe I can talk with Dr. Kanou as well.

* * *

"Welcome to Anteiku."

First day of work ever. I'll admit, it's weird for me working in a coffee shop. I'm so used to taking jobs at tutoring programs and other such things. Well, at least I can do that much when I go tutor Touka.

Coffee isn't actually anything new to me. I used to make coffee all the time for my ghoul relatives whenever they came over. It's actually pretty nostalgic for me. I've always liked smelling the coffee that I make. It's a really good smell. And with my ghoul-improved nose, it smells even better now.

Suffice to say, I think the manager was pretty happy with how well I was fitting in at Anteiku.

Once we got to break, I found myself in the upstairs break room with Touka, going over her math work.

"See how you have an exponent here? That changes the problem so that you have more than one solution."

"What about the exponents that have only one solution?"

"Technically, they still have multiple solutions, we just call those ones repeated solutions because they're technically still there, they just happen to be the exact same value."

"Well someone's working hard." A voice said from the door.

Touka and I looked up to see Mika standing by the door, looking amused at what she saw.

"What can I say? She's a good student." I said.

"I'm a slow learner." Touka grumbled.

I laughed a bit at that. "It doesn't matter if you're a bit slow. You're a good student, and that's what matters when it comes to academics. Some people are fast, some are slow. But what matters is that you learn the material."

I think Touka looked a bit relieved after that and we continued on with the lessons for a bit longer before I was interrupted by Riku.

"Hey Sora, we need you to come down. Another person just ordered your new special blend and you have to make it."

Oh yeah, that. I like experimenting with coffee mixtures, and I happened to find this one mix that all my relatives said tasted really good, so when I started working, I asked Yoshimura if he would consider adding a special "flavor of the day" coffee to our catalog, made by me.

He seemed perfectly fine with it, said that it would be an interesting change of pace. He was right. Even though it's only been a day, the "flavor of the day" blend made by me became a near-instant hit with the customers.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize exactly how popular my blend was going to be when I made it, so now people are requesting rather too frequently for my liking. Maybe I should write down the composition so everyone else can make it, take some stress off of me.

My coworkers at Anteiku are pretty good people as well.

Touka's a bit of a tomboy with an attitude, but she's a brilliant actor when it comes to acting the shy waitress. She's also willing to listen to my teaching. The number of my previous students that didn't listen was depressingly high.

Irimi's a really nice person as well. She may be a bit more on the quiet side, but she's still a nice person regardless.

Enji's helpful as a coworker. He helped me learn a lot of the stuff that I needed to know about working at Anteiku. He does like talking a teeny bit too much about his past as the 'Devil Ape' whenever something bloody gets mentioned.

Riku and I have a connection in that our parents are crazy. He's really polite at work, and he doesn't say much.

And then there's Mika, the perky coworker who I really like chatting with. It's not like we have a romantic kind of relationship (five dollars says that if we were in an anime, we would be set up as a couple), but in the few days that I've come here, we've become really good friends.

As manager, Yoshimura seems to have this air of authority about him, coupled with an air of peace and calm. Beneath all that though, I get the feeling that he's an extremely powerful ghoul just by looking at him.

Either way, they're all good people, and I really like it here. I might even move to Japan just to work at Anteiku.

As we were closing shop, the door rang again. Turning towards the door I saw a familiar face.

"Uta, do you want some coffee?" I asked.

Uta shook his head. "I only came here to make a delivery for you."

What did he- oh. Oh yeah, that's right. He was making my mask.

"My mask?" I asked.

Uta nodded. "It's a bit simpler than some of my other masks, but I think it'll fit you very well."

Uta handed me a small package. Opening it up, the first thing I noticed was that, it was in fact simple in nature. Minus one thing. It looks almost like that mask from the Broadway production of Phantom of Opera, the only difference being the slight covering on the right eye like I requested. Instead of seeing my eye, whoever looked at it would simply see a spot of black. It let me see through, which was nice. But I wasn't sure I wanted to go around looking like Erik.

"Umm, Uta? Is there a reason for the Phantom of the Opera vibe that I'm getting from this mask?" I asked. "I mean, I like Phantom of the Opera, but is there a reason that I need to go around looking like him?"

Uta chuckled. "I like Phantom of the Opera. It's a really good musical. And I figured you liked it as well. You might have said classical music, but you gave off a different vibe. Enjoy the mask."

After he left, I was still holding the mask. I tried on the mask, and I have to say. I felt surprisingly comfortable with the mask on.

Thanks, I guess.

* * *

I visited the hospital about a week and a half later when I had a day off. I wasn't sick or anything, I just wanted to visit Dr. Kanou and maybe check up on Kaneki. After I checked in as a visitor, I made my way to his office before I heard him on the phone.

"Yes, that will be all for now. I'll see you later." He said, hanging up.

Noticing me at the door, he turned to me and smiled. "Now there's a face I didn't expect to see here. How are you doing Sora?"

He really had a way to make the atmosphere calm.

"I'm still doing really well after that transplant. I honestly thought that there would be more repercussions from the transplant, but it fit in almost like it's my own." I said.

Kanou chuckled. "That's good to hear. But I'm curious, why are you here now?"

I smiled a bit. "Well, I'm actually a foreign exchange student at Kamii University right now, and the dean back at MIT suggested that I come here to say thanks. That and I'm here to check up on a classmate of mine, Kaneki Ken. He's here, right?"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "No need to thank me. I was doing my job. As for Kaneki, he's actually in the room down the corridor."

After thanking him, I walked into Kaneki's roomed. He looked rather surprised.

"Sora? What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on a classmate. Hide asked me to." I said.

"Oh."

"So how are you feeling for someone who had an organ transplant?" I asked.

Kaneki grimaced. "It feels kind of weird."

"Hey, I know what it's like to have an organ transplanted. Of course it feels weird." I said.

His eyes widened a bit. "You had an organ transplant?"

I nodded. "It was actually about a month before I took on the foreign exchange program. Dr. Kanou was at MIT for a lecture on organ transplants, I got into an accident the next day, and Dr. Kanou managed to save my life."

Kaneki looked down.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Kaneki shook his head. "Did you have this period where you didn't feel hungry after your transplant?"

I nodded, unsure of what he was getting at. "For a bit. Did something happen?"

Kaneki proceeded somewhat reluctantly. "It's just… food hasn't tasted the same to me since I got the organ transplant. I haven't even felt the need to eat since then."

This got my attention. "Who did you get the organ from?"

"I got the organ from Rize."

I froze. There was no way… could there be? I mean, what were the chances that Dr. Kanou was responsible for creating two artificial ghouls by accident? I'd confront him about this, but there's no way I could do that without the CCG starting a manhunt for me and possibly Kaneki as well.

I think there's a good phrase for this situation. What was it again? Oh yeah.

Well shit.

* * *

**Geez this was a long chapter. Hope you enjoyed it.**


	6. Hybrid Hunt

**Writing's so entertaining but so annoying at the same time.**

* * *

I'll admit, I didn't see this coming. Part of me is surprised that Kaneki survived the transplant. I mean, Kanou definitely implanted a kakuhou in him, and I feel like a human's body would reject the kakuhou, not adapt to it. I'm pretty sure the only reason I adapted to my kakuhou is because I was already 1/16th ghoul before I had the transplant. Still, for Kaneki's body to adapt to it and become a ghoul… is there something to it?

I left the hospital, still brooding over the facts that had presented themselves to me. Seeing as we probably needed a plan, I made a phone call to Anteiku.

"Mika? Can you get the manager? We have a situation."

"…"

"No goddammit Mika I don't have girl problems. This is a serious situation."

"…"

"No, nothing CCG related at the moment. Although it might escalate to that if we don't get a handle on it."

And I was right. If Kaneki goes out of control, the CCG is going to be brought in. And I'm pretty sure that's going to be the death of him. And after that, there's going to be more crackdown in the 20th ward and if we're not careful, we're going to find ourselves in a whole heap of trouble.

"…"

"I'll tell you when I get to Anteiku. I'm on the way now."

Hanging up the phone, I sighed. The next few days were going to be busy.

* * *

Once I got to Anteiku, I explained the situation to Yoshimura and the rest of the workers. They just stood there shell-shocked for a few moments before Yoshimura finally asked an important question.

"What are you planning to do about it?" He asked.

I figured that he could plan out something, but I understood what he was getting at. Since I was the one who brought it up, I have to figure out something. Thankfully enough, organizing stuff was a bit of a specialty of mine.

"For now, there's really not that much we can do. But if we do find him, bring him over to Anteiku and take care of him. I think he's going to find the idea of eating humans downright disturbing, and we need to help him before his hunger takes control of him and makes him do something that he'll regret. If Mika or I see him at school we'll bring him over. Touka, can you try looking through the streets for him when you have the time?"

Riku voiced a question to me. "And the rest of us?"

I took a breath. "You might not like this, but if worse comes to worse and the CCG is brought into this, I need you guys to distract them for long enough so that we can get Kaneki away. You don't need to kill them, just intimidate them. If you see any top class investigators, make a run for it. We don't want to risk fighting them and losing people."

"Why not help with the search?" Enji asked.

"There are other organizations, right?" I asked Yoshimura.

He nodded. "Besides Anteiku, there are a couple of other organizations out there that deal with management. Ours is the most peaceful."

"How much would they want a one-eyed ghoul?" I asked. I knew they were practically nonexistent, minus myself (well, whatever portion of a kakugan my right eye makes plus one-half), Kaneki, and my great-grandfather (He's dead from old age, so we can disregard him).

"They'd probably throw a large amount of resources into taking him for their own if they knew he existed."

They'd probably do the same for me if they were aware of my existence, so I'm glad that I'm more subtle.

"That's why. If the other organizations out there get wind of the fact that we've pretty much started a manhunt, we have no idea what they're going to do, or what will happen to whoever gets in their way. The less people we use, the lower our chance of discovery." I explained.

I continued. "In order to preserve the little peace we have here, we need to find him quickly and quietly. Any other way could go bad for us."

They nodded. We knew what we had to do,

I just hope that we don't find him too late.

* * *

"GODDAMMIT!"

I'm pretty sure if other people lived in the complex with me they'd be complaining by now. Thankfully enough, my parents pretty much bought the entire complex (They're really rich, which is somewhat convenient when I need something). I don't actually need the space, but it allows me to not get disturbed by any neighbors (or disturb them, like what my screams of frustration would be doing right now). I can also discuss ghoul-related things without being overheard by anyone. But that aside, I'm frustrated right now.

Kaneki's out of the hospital and I can't seem to find him. I have no idea where he lives, and for all I know, he could be in the middle of the ocean right now.

Touka said she saw him the other day when she was hunting, but he ran off before she could do anything about it. Apparently he showed up at Anteiku later, but he ran off before Yoshimura could offer any other help besides food.

Mika hasn't seen him in school, Hide hasn't seen him in school, I have no idea where to look.

I paced around my condo. It was frustrating, really, not being able to track down Kaneki.

A knock at the door stopped my pacing. Opening it up, I saw Touka standing at the door, a frown on her face.

"Touka, did something happen?" I asked.

She nodded.

Talking about ghoul stuff outside was always a bad idea (yes I know, I did it when I was talking with Touka, Nishiki and Mika about my family history), so I motioned for her to come in.

"Alright, what happened?" I asked.

Touka sat down on a couch before she replied. "I found him again today. He was in an alley being bullied by Nishiki."

Oh boy, that's never good. "Was Nishiki being really territorial again?" I asked.

Touka nodded. "I chased Nishiki off and tried to feed Kaneki, but he wasn't having any of that. He kept on talking about how he wasn't a ghoul like the rest of us. And I…"

"What? What did you do Touka?" I asked.

Touka looked downright ashamed. "I snapped and told him that he wasn't human either and that there was no place that he belonged."

Ah crap. That's a problem. As much as I want to berate Touka for acting the way she did towards him, doing that now isn't going to solve any problems. I need to figure out what to do from here. I suppose I can't blame Touka too much for what she did, her temper does flare up at bad times after all.

"For now, I think we'll be fine. Just keep track of him when you can, and keep him from doing something stupid."

"You mean besides not eating?" Touka asked.

I chuckled. "Besides that yeah."

Touka looked confused. "You're not going to give me a lecture on how I acted towards him when I snapped?"

I sighed. "Touka, you look like you've already learned your lesson. I don't really need to do much in that regard. Just call me first the next time you see him. I'll be there as fast as I can."

I had no idea that she would be calling me so soon after I said those words.

* * *

It was quite literally the next day when Touka called in. It was getting somewhat late when I got a call from her.

"Yeah Touka?"

"Found Kaneki. He's with Nishiki and Hide right now."

I almost dropped the phone when I heard what she said. Of all the scenarios that could present themselves, I'm pretty sure that this scenario is the worst possible for me, aside from running into the CCG and getting caught by them.

"Where are they?"

"…"

"Alright, I'll be there soon."

Closing the phone call, I made my way to get a taxi only to be presented with a problem. There were way too many cars. Mika was following right behind me when she saw what was wrong.

"Ah crap. What do we do?"

I grinned. I probably shouldn't, given the situation, but the sky was dark enough that another option was present to me.

"Let me grab my mask real quick." I said, shedding my coat. I had open slots in my shirt where my ukaku could pop out, which was really convenient for what I was about to do.

After I put on my mask, I made my way to the ceiling of Anteiku, where I willed my ukaku to come into existence. My rinkaku would only slow down what I was about to do.

Mika, who had come up just behind, expressed some concern.

"Are you sure you want to try this?"

I chuckled. "I've been practicing."

With that, my wings launched me into the air.

The first time I tried flying, I plummeted really quickly, which really sucked because I ran into a brick wall. The times after, I managed to figure out the perfect form for my ukaku to maximize flying efficiency. Normally, I'd have qualms about flying, but the sky was dark enough that I could probably pass myself off as a bird if I flew high enough.

But the rush! It felt so amazing! I felt so free when I was flying that I almost considered flying to get from place to place all the time (I decided against it for obvious reasons).

I couldn't get ahead of myself though. I had to find Kaneki. Thankfully enough, it wasn't too hard. I saw two kagune clashing from my view. One was a rinkaku while the other was an ukaku. I figured the ukaku was Touka so I folded my wings in to start diving down at the guy with the rinkaku. Who I figured out about five seconds before I hit him was Kaneki. In retrospect, it was a good thing that I did a flip before I hit him. I'm not sure what I would do as a follow-up if I smashed into him face-first (probably just lie on the ground twitching from the damage to my head). Either way, Kaneki was now on the ground beneath my feet, unconscious. A flick of my thought brought out my rinkaku and cut away the tentacles that Kaneki had. With that, he fell unconscious.

As I willed my kagune away, Touka spoke up. "You know, I had him."

"I told you I would be here soon. Besides, you took less injuries from this, didn't you?" I said, pointing at said injuries.

She sighed. She knew I was right. Something else caught her attention though. "You dived onto him. Did you…?"

I nodded. "I just perfected it last week. But that aside, what happened to Nishiki?"

Touka frowned. "He managed to get home, but he was really injured. But the reason I was fighting Eyepatch here was because he was about to eat Hide."

Eyepatch? Oh, she's talking about Kaneki. Makes sense I guess. Don't want Kaneki doing something that he'll regret later on. "We should get them to Anteiku right now. If I'm not mistaken, someone should be here…"

We heard a car stop right by us.

…Right now. I really love Mika's timing. So perfect.

* * *

We finally got Hide and Kaneki to Anteiku and treated them as they needed. Man, Kaneki was hungry. He ate so much in his sleep. Right now, we were waiting for Kaneki to wake up. Meanwhile, Hide is all nice and conked out still from his little scuffle. Apparently Nishiki has some pretty vicious kicks.

Once he woke up, Yoshimura went in to talk to him. He took him out to the room we were keeping Hide in. I decided to walk over to check on them, just in time to hear Kaneki start crying.

"I'm neither human nor ghoul. I'm all alone." He cried.

Well, he couldn't be any more wrong. Unfortunately, I can see why he currently has that mindset. It does get tough for a guy like him when he's spent so long as a full human. I guess living the way I have would give me a very different perspective than most humans. Might as well comfort the poor fellow best I can.

I walked right in. Kaneki's head popped up to see me.

"Sora? You're a ghoul also?" Kaneki asked.

"Not quite." I said. "I became a ghoul after an organ transplant, just like you."

Kaneki's eyes widened a bit. "Just like me?" he whispered.

I nodded. Putting my hand on his shoulder, I continued. "You're wrong, you know. You aren't neither ghoul nor human. You're both ghoul _and _human. I've had a long time to learn about this, and I can tell you that you and I are unique in that we have a place in both worlds."

Yoshimura picked up where I left off. "Come take a job with us at Anteiku. We'll teach you how to live as a ghoul. Keeping your place as a human is definitely linked to that. Hopefully the human side of you will want to understand us, and whether we are just beasts driven by hunger."

I smiled. I think Yoshimura's got a pretty good handle on this situation.

"How about it? But first, I'll show you how to make delicious coffee."

Ok, maybe not completely. All this and the manager is still thinking about the coffee? I mean, he could just fill in as a guy who takes orders so the rest of us make coffee. Eh, I guess he'll have to learn. Wait, Hide just shifted a little bit. Did he…?

After they left the room, I stayed behind.

"You know, for a guy who's supposed to be unconscious still, you're doing a terrible job." I said.

Hide didn't respond, so I proceeded to poke him in the side.

"Gah!"

Well that got the response that I was looking for. I sighed.

"Hide, I saw the corner of your eyelid widen a bit. How much did you hear?"

Hide scratched the back of his head rather nervously. "Pretty much all of it. I won't tell anyone about you guys though. Or treat you guys any differently." He added quickly.

I raised my eyebrow. "Really now?"

Hide nodded. "Listening to you guys talk, I think ghouls might just be misunderstood creatures at the moment. Sure some of them are bad (a lot of them, I'd say), but others aren't necessarily bad per se."

I nodded. He's not lying, I can tell that much. I think we're safe with him. He may be a liability, but he's not one that we really have to worry about. "Just remember this much. If you say something out of line, we might have to kill you. And I'd rather not have to do that."

Hide held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, I like staying alive. I'll stay quiet about this."

I nodded again before whacking him on the head. "Get some rest you sneaky little detective."

After Hide went back to sleep, I walked out of the room to see every Anteiku employing looking at me. Including Kaneki. They were probably wondering why I was staying in there so long. Before I could mention Hide though, Riku spoke up.

"We told Kaneki-kun here about your family history. I have to say, I've never seen someone so freaked out by the prospect of cross-breeding."

Kaneki spoke up. "I didn't even know it was possible. I guess that's why you didn't freak out when you became a ghoul."

I had a small laugh. "Oh no, I still freaked out a bit. I mean, one moment I'm almost dead, the next I'm more ghoul than human. Of course I'm going to freak out at least a little bit. Not as much as you did, but I still freaked out."

"Oh. So why did you stay in the room a bit longer?" Kaneki asked.

"Hide was listening when you guys were talking. He knows we're a coffee shop for ghouls." I explained.

Touka's eyes instantly became guarded. "Do we need to deal with him?"

Kaneki looked downright terrified. I don't blame him. If someone thought my friend was a threat to his/her way of living and wanted to remove him, I'd probably freak out also. That reminds me. I need to go check up on Nishiki sometime.

I shook my head. "It's fine. He's not a threat to us. Besides, I think he values his friendship way more than we thought. You found a good friend, Ken."

Kaneki looked down. "It's more like he found me. I wouldn't have had a friend without him."

I smiled. "All the more reason for you to keep him as a friend, don't you think?"

He nodded. Everyone else looked a bit wary at the idea that a human knew that we were a ghoul café, but no one was complaining. I'm pretty happy about it though. I think we just made our first big step towards peace between our races. Sure, it's going to take a really long time to actually achieve peace, but we'll get there eventually. I better hurry up and get started on my research when possible.

* * *

**Two chapters in less than 24 hours? Who are you and what have you done with XiaoWeiXiao?**

**But yeah, as I've said in previous updates, don't expect a ridiculously fast output of chapters. The only reason I got this one out so quickly was because I had this huge burst of inspiration.**

**By the way, this story will follow the manga storyline, not the anime, so Hinami's father will already be dead by the time the family is introduced.**

**Also, I'm not completely certain as to good times to use Japanese honorifics, so bear with me if they're inconsistent.**


	7. Steps to Peace

**My obsession with Tokyo Ghoul started with a friend of mine who loves reading manga. She mentioned it to me, I ignored it at the time, and then I started reading it.**

**I do believe I am infected.**

* * *

I have to admit, I never thought I would interact with another one-eyed ghoul in my life, especially someone who became one through an organ transplant.

Well, today's Kaneki's first day working at Anteiku. Let's see how he's doing.

I walked to the back of the shop to see Yoshimura instructing Kaneki on how to make good coffee.

"Slowly and calmly. Pour it while making a circle."

I almost laughed. Which would have been pretty rude. Kaneki's hand is trembling so much that the quality of his coffee really isn't going to be that good even if he was pouring it slowly. Before I could lose my composure, I felt a hand pull me up the stairs by my collar.

"Mika… You know you didn't have to do that, right?" I asked.

Mika shook her head. "You were about to laugh at the poor kid. I can't have you doing that on his first day. Maybe after his second week or something, but not on his first day. Come on Sora, have some decency. I mean, you were the one who suggested that he come to Anteiku in the first place."

Ah dammit. I guess Mika wins this one.

Once I changed into my waiter uniform, I went downstairs to find the place almost empty, excluding a couple ghouls who were deciding what to order.

"Hey Kaneki!"

And Hide. I'd stop by to say hi to him as well, but one of the ghouls just ordered a 'flavor of the day.' Man I can't catch a break. I'd let someone else make it, but I haven't written down the instructions for this one yet. That and they take about three minutes longer than the average coffee made here, mostly because I have my own way of making them. Maybe I should ask the manager if I can just have a rotating schedule of flavors each week. That'll make things easier on me I guess.

We spent about an hour working when the shopped finally emptied itself. Riku and I were at the counter managing the area. A moment later, the doors opened again, with a mother and daughter walking into the shop.

"Ah, Ryouko-san, Hinami-chan. Pleasure to see the two of you." Riku said.

The mother, who I assume is Ryouko, smiled at Riku. "It's nice to see you as well, Riku. And who are you? A new worker?" she asked with a smile.

Riku answered before I did. "This is my cousin Sora. He's a foreign exchange student from the United States. He's actually responsible for our newest feature at Anteiku, the 'Flavor of the Day.'"

"Oh really now? How wonderful! You must be a hard worker." Ryouko said.

I managed to bring out a small, embarrassed smile. I wasn't exactly comfortable with people praising me for my effort in something. I just thought it had to be done, and nothing else. (Dammit Riku, why'd you have to put the spotlight on me?).

"I'm Ryouko Fueguchi. Come now, Hinami. Say hello."

The daughter, who I guess is Hinami, looked utterly shocked at being asked to say hi to a stranger. I get the feeling she's really shy around people.

She finally managed a small "Hello."

So she's one of those kinds of people. They're definitely ghouls, judging from their smell. If I were to guess, they don't hunt.

"We have another new worker as well. He just started today." I said. Hopefully that's enough to distract them from me. (I sincerely doubt it though).

A moment later, my prayers were answered in the form of Kaneki walking down the stairs along with Touka. Judging from the look on his face, I think Yoshimura had him practice eating human food. Poor guy. I still remember the first time Andy had me try out human food as a ghoul. I think it took me something around fifty tries before I finally managed to fake it. And that was only with the simpler foods.

"Oh, Ryouko-san, Hinami. The manager's just upstairs." Touka said.

The family walked upstairs while the rest of us dawdled on in the now-empty first floor of Anteiku. Kaneki started asking questions about what they were doing here when Touka explained.

"They're here to pick up their package of meat. They're just like you in that they can't hunt for themselves." She said.

Kaneki was confused. "What about Sora?"

I shook my head. "It's not that I don't hunt, it's just that I choose not to."

"Is that something that can be decided on? I suppose for the old people or maybe for women…"

At this, I think Touka was pissed off. "Your constant questioning is annoying! If you want to know go ask them directly!"

At this, Touka walked off. I guess she had to deal with a bunch of Kaneki's questions throughout the day. I don't blame her, really. I'd probably snap like that too if I had to deal with questions every other minute.

Kaneki still looked confused. "There are ghouls who can't hunt humans?"

I looked over at Riku, my eyes conveying a very clear message to him: "You want to answer this one?" I for one don't, seeing as I don't know the situation as well as he does. I may adjust quickly, but ghoul sociology is something that I'm still not completely familiar with, unfortunately for me.

Riku nodded before answering Kaneki's question. "The Fueguchi family is in a similar boat to you in the fact that they can't bring themselves to kill people to eat."

"Oh." Was all that Kaneki said to that. "So there are ghouls that feel the same way that I do."

I chuckled. "Welcome to reality, where nothing is simple."

* * *

Mika and I were enjoying some coffee at Anteiku (we had a day off) when we heard Yoshimura start talking to Kaneki.

"A mask?" Kaneki asked.

Ah, so it was this conversation. It is a rather important topic for him, seeing as we might run into the CCG sometime sooner or later.

"Yes, I think you should have a mask. All of us carry one."

"Even Sora?" Kaneki asked.

I drilled a stared at him. "Just because I used to be human doesn't mean that I don't need to have a mask."

"Alright, alright, no need to get on his case about this Sora-kun. Kaneki-kun here can take his time to learn this stuff." Yoshimura said.

The manager turned to Touka. "Touka-chan, on your next day off, would you take Kaneki-kun here to get his mask made?"

"What?!"

The look of utter shock and horror on Touka's face nearly sent me into a laughing fit. Ah, so gold. But I'm pretty sure that this is karma at work right now. I mean, Touka did pretty much scare Kaneki off each time they ran into each other.

"Why do I have to spend my day off with that guy?!" Touka asked, feeling indignant.

Oh yeah, Touka's going to be a real charmer in the future, especially with that attitude of hers. Poor Kaneki. Something tells me that he's going to be on the receiving end of a ton of Touka's insults in the near future.

Yoshimura must have dealt with Touka's attitude a lot though seeing as he never seems to lose his composure. The only thing he did was explain to Touka why she had to escort Kaneki to Uta's shop.

"Kaneki-kun will get lost if he goes on his own. And Uta usually makes for a scary first impression." Yoshimura said.

Touka still looked annoyed. "That's true, but that still doesn't explain why I have to go. Why can't Sora or Mika take him there?"

"Your next day off is Saturday. Mika and I are working that day." I pointed out. "We can't take him there on a weekday because we're at Kamii getting stuff done, studying, or working."

"…You're taking a break right now. And I heard that Mika took you to Uta's shop on a school day." Touka said.

I sighed as I pulled out my laptop, which I had decided to bring with me to do some study at the café, as well as some other equipment.

"I'll be studying here today for a small project of mine." I said.

"And the only reason I took him to Uta's shop that day was because it was the second day of class and there really wasn't any material that we had to worry about, thank you very much." Mika said (Man I love her sass. Unless it's directed at me. Then it sucks for me).

Seeing that she was running out of ways to get out of taking Kaneki to Uta's shop, she finally went for the only explanation that had a chance of getting her out of taking him there. "Still though, he doesn't really need a mask that much, does he?"

Normally, that would be a valid question. Except for one small inkling of a problem that I heard about by chance.

"I heard from Yomo that there are a couple of investigators in our ward. I'd like for Kaneki-kun to get a mask as soon as possible." The old manager said.

Yep. That's the problem. I had heard about them as well. Apparently they're from the main office. Which means they're going to be trained, unlike the guys that are stationed as investigators over here. Maybe I'll do some more training just in case I have a run-in with them. My thoughts were interrupted a moment later by Touka, who finally gave up trying to delegate the task of escorting Kaneki to Uta's shop to someone else.

"Eyepatch (Is she going to call him that from now on?)! Saturday, 4:30, Shinjuku Station, East Entrance. If you're late, I'll kill you."

Man. That sounded so sinister. I'm almost convinced that Touka's going to kill Kaneki if he's late. Poor guy.

After the two of them got back to working, Mika leaned over to me and whispered. "Touka's going to be late on Saturday."

I looked at her in surprise. "Really? How do you know?"

Mika laughed. "She does it all the time. She asks you to be somewhere at a certain time and she will always be late. Sometimes up to forty minutes late."

"And the reason for doing this is?" I wondered.

Mika shrugged. "Not sure. It might be something she does without paying attention, or she loves messing with people. Either way it's kind of funny."

"I can imagine." I said.

"Speaking of studying, why'd you bring your laptop out? We already finished all our homework. Do you have something that you're planning on doing?" Mika asked.

"Oh yeah, that." I pulled out a couple more devices from my bag, including a bunch of petri dishes with wires so that they could connect to the computer. I opened one of them up.

"Do me a favor and put some of your saliva into this." I said.

Mika raised an eyebrow. "Ok, why?"

"I'm doing an analysis of saliva from ghouls and comparing them to humans to see what the difference is between them. I've already collected some human samples from our biology class today."

Mika looked at me like I was crazy for a few moments before she complied and spit into the petri dish. After she did that, I left the table with some more empty petri dishes so I could collect more samples from the other workers.

Thankfully enough, everyone I asked agreed to place some samples into the petri dishes. At the end of that run, I had samples from Irimi, Enji, one of the other customers, and even Yoshimura. I had two petri dishes left, so I had to wonder what I would do with them. I had five human samples, five ghoul samples (including Mika), and had no idea what I was going to do with the last two dishes.

I think a lightbulb went off in my head at that moment. Why didn't I ask Kaneki for a sample and then use myself?

Kaneki agreed to place some of his saliva in the sample, which was a relief. I wanted to be able to see what a half-ghoul's saliva would be like compared to that of a regular, full-blooded ghoul.

After I got back with all the petri dishes, I got to work.

The petri dishes that I have aren't regular ones. On each and every single dish, there is a scanner that breaks down the content of each and every single sample that is put on there. Using this, I can analyze each and every single piece of data in each and every sample of saliva. Is the equipment itself expensive? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Yes. One should never leave out any bit of data where analysis is involved.

"So what are you planning to do with all of those samples of saliva?" Mika asked.

I barely spent a moment to reply. "I'm trying to find a way to make it so that eating human food doesn't have to be downright disgusting or bad for our health."

Mika was curious. "How would you—"

"Mika, give me a moment."

She huffed, clearly not pleased at getting cut off. It didn't matter to me. I was focused on my work, and I didn't want any distractions.

Touka's voice almost cut my focus for a moment. "Hey Sora, what are you—"

Mika shushed her really quickly. I barely gave them thought though. This was much more important.

As it turns out, the saliva that Ken and I have doesn't have that much of a difference when compared to the saliva from the ghouls. The only difference is the density of mucus, and that isn't by that much.

Enzymes between species on the other hand, were completely different. While I recognized every single enzyme in the human saliva that I had collected, I saw literally none of those enzymes in the ghoul saliva. Not a single one. This explains so much as to why we can't digest food.

I looked up to see Touka and Mika looking at me curiously. Kaneki joined their curious looks a few seconds later when he came to see what was going on, along with literally every single worker at Anteiku. Apparently I had been sitting there glued to the screen for hours. Under other circumstances, that would be bad, but I think this time it was acceptable. Yoshimura asked us all to go upstairs before he flipped the sign to 'Closed.'

"I was right." I said.

All of them were confused. "Right about what?"

I sighed before explaining. "You know the idiot on television who goes on about he's an expert on ghouls? The guy Ogura?"

"You mean the guy who claims that he knows more about ghouls than ghouls themselves?" Mika asked.

"Yeah, about that? He doesn't." I said. "One of his claims is that ghouls can't digest food because of an enzyme. He's wrong. It's because of a lack of enzymes. He's right about the tongue structure, I can say that much. But that's pretty much all he knows about ghouls and food. Our problem with human food is quite literally the same situation as the one that lactose-intolerant people have."

"You mean ghouls can't digest human food because they _don't _have the enzymes to?" Kaneki asked. I'm guessing that he watched Ogura's

I nodded. "If I can get a sample of a ghoul's stomach acid, I should be able to create a prototype for an enzyme solution that'll let us break down regular human food for a few hours."

Everyone gasped. I couldn't blame them. The implications of this were monumental. This was a large stepping stone in the direction towards peace. Being able to survive off something that wasn't human would make things much safer for us.

Granted, there was a tad bit of a problem before I could get to that point.

"Um, guys? I need someone to throw up so I can have some stomach acid to examine." I said.

After Touka (unwillingly) volunteered, everyone else left to get back to work except Yoshimura, who smiled and spoke to me.

"What you've done here today has given ghouls everywhere a much brighter future. I hope you'll be able to continue this line of work." Yoshimura said.

I smiled. "Don't worry sir, I plan to continue this for as long as I need to."

Yoshimura nodded. "Well, I better get back to checking up on Kaneki-kun then."

A few moments later, Touka entered the break room, looking rather pale. She was holding a beaker of some of her stomach acid. She was also giving me the glare of death. I don't blame her. I wouldn't want to throw up myself.

"Thanks Touka."

She merely grunted before going back down to work.

I continued doing my analysis on the ghoul stomach acids that Touka gave me. I have to say, it's really interesting. I'm right in that the stomach acid also lacks quite a few enzymes, but the few enzymes that it does have for breaking down protein are interesting. It's like a variation of the enzyme that humans have that break down food proteins. This is a huge discovery! There are so many things that can be learned from this.

It'll take me a while before I figure out how to create the prototype solution, but the research will be worth it.

* * *

**Thank you guys for sticking with me through this. **

**I have no idea as to whether or not ghoul biology really works like this in regards to digestion. I just did some research and figured out things that made sense to my brain.**

**Anyone who thinks otherwise, feel free to pitch in your own opinion.**

**Thanks!**

**XWX**


	8. Progress

**Onward to a new chapter! Also, shoutout to leena1445 for all the encouragement so far.**

* * *

It was Saturday. Mika, Riku and I were manning the coffee shop while Touka and Ken were off to Uta's shop to get a mask made. Something tells me that Uta's going to hide under a white cloth again. If he does it once, he'll do it many more times.

On a different note, I appear to have another problem to deal with. The whole enzyme thing that I figured out, while it was a breakthrough, there was another problem that presented itself to me. The goddamn taste. While surviving off human food is a possibility that we can embrace in the near future, many ghouls are going to be unwilling to eat human food if they can still taste it. I need to figure out some way to manage that problem. The biggest problem is, I would have to somehow reconfigure a ghoul's tongue to be able to accept human food without complaint. I have a few ideas that might work, but nothing solid quite yet.

Even if I do figure out how to solve all those problems, I still need to find out how to synthesize human meat. Much as we might not like it, eating human meat is still a necessity for us. Our hunger isn't exactly easy to satisfy, after all. Human meat does give way more energy than human food. The biggest problem with the whole synthesized meat thing is that I would have to be able to restructure meat so that the natural enzymes in a ghoul's stomach would be able to break down the food. While the technology for synthesizing meat has been around, it's still freaking expensive. I'll try to figure something out, but this is going to take a long time.

"Sora-kun." Yoshimura's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Could you come with me for a moment?"

I nodded before following him downstairs to the meat storage. He went in and gave me two packages. "Could you give this to the Fueguchi family? I have an errand that I have to run tonight."

I can do that much, I guess. I walked up to the second floor before knocking on the door. "Fueguchi-san, can I come in?"

After I received a confirmation, I walked into their room with the meat, as well as some cutlery, plates and napkins. Hinami had just sat up when I brought in the food for them.

"Here's some food." I said, putting down the plate for them. As I made my way out of the room, Hinami called out.

"Umm, Onii-san? Which are you? You smell funny." she asked.

"Hinami! That's rude!" I heard her mother scold her.

Huh. Her sense of smell must be really powerful if she can pick that out from this distance. Her' hearing is probably pretty good as well. Nishiki and Mika had to be about two feet away from me before they could pick up the fact that I was only part-ghoul.

I turned around to speak. "It's fine Mrs. Fueguchi. Hinami's actually the first one to notice of her own accord. I didn't think I would find someone with a sense of smell that strong here."

The scolding that she was giving Hinami forgotten, Ryouko's curiosity got the better of her. "Notice what?"

I sat down before explaining. "I'm actually part ghoul, part human. I used to be human, but some weird stuff happened and now I'm a ghoul. It's actually kind of interesting."

Suffice to say, both mother and daughter were somewhat amazed by this. "How did it happen?" Ryouko asked.

I shrugged. "Accidental surgery. I almost got eaten by a ghoul, and then the ghoul died before he could eat me. After that happened, the doctor transplanted some organs into me to save me, which incidentally enough happen to be kakuhou (I still don't know how he pulled that off). And somehow that turned me into a ghoul."

"I've never heard of that happening before." Ryouko said.

I almost laughed at this point, but that's because I knew something she didn't. "I have. Kaneki, our newest worker, had almost the exact same experience happen to him."

Hinami's nose twitched. "That doesn't make sense though."

I raised my eyebrow. "What do you mean, Hinami?"

"Well, your smell is a little bit more ghoul than Kaneki-nii-san. It's like an imbalance of smells that's more ghoul than human. Kaneki-nii-san is more half and half."

I'll admit, I was astonished. Hinami's sense of smell is downright incredible. I never knew someone could have such a refined sense of smell. Seeing no reason to hide it, I smiled at Hinami. "You're absolutely right Hinami. The reason that I smell different is because of one thing and one thing alone. I was already part-ghoul before the surgery. 1/16th to be exact."

Ryouko's eyes widened. "How is that possible?" She asked.

I shrugged. "Long story short, one of my great-great-grandparents was a ghoul. And because of that, our family has always had a better view of things than most humans do."

"Is that why you're doing all this research into enzymes?" Ryouko asked.

I'm pretty sure there was a bunch of shock that ran through my body. "You heard about that?" I asked. "I thought only the employees at Anteiku knew about what I was doing."

"Yoshimura-san told us." Ryouko said. "And I hope you'll be able to finish up your research. It'll make it so much easier for ghouls like us to eat then."

Oh. Well that makes sense. Of course I could tell her that I already had the first working prototype in my pocket, but at this point it's nowhere near ready. I still need to increase its density so that the enzymes can last more than half a meal. It was quite the experience when I tried it out. I got halfway through a burger before everything started disagreeing with my stomach, which was somewhat unfortunate for me. I got a whole bunch of weird looks from the guys around me when I started feeling the puking coming up. I just passed it off as my stomach having problems. Most people buy that kind of story. It's also how I figured out the whole taste problem. I managed though.

"Well, I better get back to work. I'll talk to you later, all right?" I said.

Hinami's bright smile was all I needed to confirm her wordless answer.

As I started walking down the stairs, a bolt of inspiration suddenly hit me. Man I'm an idiot. If taste is a problem, make it so that ghouls can't even taste it at all. It's that simple. Geez what was I thinking. Just add a tongue numbing agent or a tongue covering and taste doesn't have to be a worry. I'll just get that done real quick right now. Thank heavens I brought the everything I needed with me (Yes I know, I'm crazy for bringing all my stuff with me everywhere I go. Don't judge, I like being able make the changes I need to on the spot).

* * *

When I got back to the first floor of Anteiku after doing my little modification, I was somewhat surprised to see Touka and Kaneki both there as customers.

"So what are you two doing here? Besides being customers, of course." I asked.

Kaneki looked a bit shy about this. "Well, I'm paying for Touka-chan's coffee."

I looked at Touka. "You asked him to, didn't you?"

Touka looked slightly abashed. "I did tell him that I wanted to try your 'Flavor of the Day' special. He just offered to pay."

More like you implied that he should pay for it as thanks for taking your time off to take him to Uta's shop. Speaking of which…

"Was Uta hiding under a white sheet?"

Before poor Kaneki could answer (it looked like a yes from the way his eyes seemed to go back in time for a few seconds), Touka cut in. "Shouldn't you be getting our coffee?"

I chuckled. "Right. So Touka wants one of my specials, while Kaneki wants… ("Same thing") one as well. Neat. So that's two of my specials I'll be getting the two of you."

As I started brewing the coffee, I figured that this was a perfect opportunity to experiment. "Hey Mika, could you go bring a small box from my bag upstairs? The medicine box?"

Mika looked at me, somewhat confused. "Sure, I can do that. But why?"

My face shifted into a grin. "Type-two prototype is ready for its first test run."

She looked shocked for a few seconds, before her face shifted into confused look. "Did you make one already?"

"Mika, just get the box. I'll explain when you get it."

I added one more thing. "Oh, and grab a couple of sandwiches, will you?"

Mika nodded, understanding what I was getting at. At least I think she did. Either way, I hope she gets onto it while she can.

As Mika went up to grab the things I asked for, I took the coffee I had made down to Touka and Ken. "Here you go." I said, placing the coffee down before them.

As both of them took their first sips, their eyes widened. "This is really better than almost all our regular coffees." Touka said. "How did you do this?"

Whoa there Touka. Never took you for the appreciative type. Don't get all warm and chummy on me now. "A bit of experimenting, really. I did a lot of coffee making back when I was in the United States for the ghoul side of my family. I learned a couple of tricks that change up the flavor when I was making it for them."

"Ah, I see."

Mika came downstairs a few minutes later after Touka and Kaneki finished their coffee.

Well, moment of truth. "By the way, I'll pay the coffee for the two of you. On one condition."

Kaneki gulped while Touka looked at me warily. "What kind of condition."

I grinned (Mika told me later that I looked like some creepy mad scientist when I did that). Motioning to Mika to pass the box and sandwiches, I put the sandwiches on their table. "Put simply, I need you guys to do some testing as guinea pigs for me."

They looked confused. "Guinea pigs?" Kaneki asked.

Touka looked like she didn't like the sound of what I was planning. I didn't really see the problem though. Although that may have been because I wasn't the one who was taking the pills.

"It's not that much." I said. "I just need you guys to take these pills," I pointed them out, "and then eat the sandwiches a few minutes afterwards."

Kaneki looked rather green upon hearing those words. "E-eat a sandwich?" He stuttered.

I chuckled. "Pretty much. But don't forget to take the pills first."

Both of them still looked wary as they both took a pill and swallowed it down. A few minutes later, after I was sure the pill had taken effect, the two of them both took bites out of the sandwiches before them, their eyes widening when they ate the sandwiches.

"So how'd it taste?" I asked.

Kaneki shook his head in amazement. "I didn't even taste it. What did you do?"

I explained. "The pills that the two of you took before you ate the sandwiches were my most recently developed enzyme pill. The prototype I developed had a problem in that you could still taste human food in all its gloriously disgusting nature. So until I can make it so we can taste human food for what it is, I did the next best thing. I numbed the tongue so that it can't taste anything for about an hour."

"How'd you figure it out?" Mika asked. I had almost forgotten that she was there. Man I need to focus less on my test subjects and more on my surroundings.

I shrugged. "Self-testing, mostly."

They stared. "What?" I asked. "It's not like I'm doing anything that dangerous to myself. I'm just testing out my ability to eat food."

"That still sounds pretty dangerous." Mika said.

I shrugged. "Worst case scenario is that I didn't put enough enzymes in the pill and I end up throwing up a portion of my meal, depending on how weak the dose in the pill was."

They just stared at me.

"What?"

"You're still crazy."

…Goddammit.

* * *

"You looked like a mad scientist. It was scary."

"Give me a break. I was excited to see how it went."

Mika and I had just finished cleaning and were stowing away our waiter uniforms when Mika had an idea. "You know, I haven't actually seen you fight before."

I looked at her curiously. "Why are you mentioning this now?"

"I kinda want to have a sparring session with you." She said.

I shrugged. It wasn't that much of a bother to me, I guess. "Sure, why not?"

"Alright!" Mika pumped her fist up before grabbing my arm. I had a bad idea of what was going to happen in the next five seconds.

"Mika wait a mo- ahh!"

There goes my shoulder again. Fortunately, it wasn't as bad as last time, seeing as we only went down a couple of flights of stairs before Mika let me go. We went down the ladder to the underground area.

I'll admit, this underground area is amazing. The place where I trained with Andy was nowhere near as large as this place.

"How far does this go?" I asked.

"I'm not completely sure, but I think this encompasses almost all of Tokyo." Mika said.

Wow. That's a lot of ground. And the Tokyo ghouls did all of this? That's impressive

Once both of us got to the ground, Mika brought out her kagune. Turns out, she's a rinkaku ghoul. Nice. Her rinkaku is pretty different when compared to mine though. Mine's more like Kaneki's, which I guess makes sense because Rize and Sosei, our unfortunate donors, were cousins. Mika's on the other hand looks almost like a rose stem. She's got two tentacles coming from her waist with thorns on them. It even had a shade of green on it. That's a first. Most of the kagune that I've seen have either been bluish or red (yeah I know my ukaku is purple, but you get the point).

As I took off my own jacket, my rinkaku and ukaku brought themselves out to prepare for the sparring session that Mika and I were about to have.

"Just to warn you, I don't really like holding back when I fight." Mika said.

I had a small chuckle. "Guess I can't take this fight lightly then."

The next moment both of us charged at each other. I started by launching a giant wave of crystallized kagune at Mika, who jumped over it. The moment she was up in the air, I sent my rinkaku at her, seeing a perfect opening to hit her. I would have made contact too, if not for one thing. Mika had planted her kagune in the ground, and she pulled herself down to the ground the moment the wave of kagune shards from my ukaku stopped. From that point, she shot her rinkaku at me.

I launched out my own rinkaku, seeking to block hers and take advantage from there, seeing as I had four rinkaku tentacles while she only had two. Two of my rinkaku made contact with hers, while my other two reached even further to take advantage of her otherwise occupied kagune.

I found out a few seconds later that Mika's thorns were not for show. The thorns actually extended, stabbing right through my own rinkaku. I jumped back a few feet, not wanting to get impaled.

"That's a rather sneaky ability you have there." I said.

Mika giggled. "Do you like it? Most people don't see it coming."

I laughed a bit. "I can imagine. I had no idea that the thorns were there for that reason. I thought they were just aesthetics."

Mika smirked. "Trust me, they're way more than just aesthetics. Sosei has never won a fight against me because of my kagune."

I chuckled. "Well I'm just going to have to do what he couldn't."

I'm in a pinch of sorts. Mika's ability pretty much guarantees that I can't get close to her or else I'll get impaled all over the place. And judging by how the thorns that expanded have more thorns on them, Mika can theoretically create an infinite number of extending thorns, which can pretty much compensate for how fragile rinkaku kagune can be. If I'm right, her shield is about as tough as a koukaku. And to top it off, because she's a rinkaku ghoul, she doesn't have to worry about a lack of speed.

I have a few ideas in mind that might work. Let's try them.

"You chickening out?" Mika asked.

I smirked. "In your dreams."

And with that, we were at it again.

I took good care to avoid Mika more actively in this fight, not giving her any opportunity to get close to me with her kagune. It was a strenuous exercise. Left, right, block, jump. At the very least, I figured out a good pattern to dodging her attacks. She keeps repositioning as well, which isn't exactly good for me, seeing as I have to continually keep my distance from her until what I have in mind works.

A few minutes of this later, I finally began, my ukaku starting to build up its Rc cell density. A few seconds after building it up, I launched a large kagune shard about the size of a basketball at Mika. Mika tried to block it with her rinkaku, but it managed to pierce through. Before it could hit Mika though, she jumped over it. As she was jumping over it though, I launched myself at her, closing the gap between us in almost an instant. Mika managed to block my charge in at the last second though with her kagune.

I didn't really want to get stabbed by her thorns, so I jumped back.

As she landed, she breathed a sigh of relief. "That scared me for a second. I almost thought you had me."

Oh she had no idea what was about to happen in the next second. "Still do."

The large kagune shard that Mika jumped over exploded, sending chunks of kagune right into her back. None of them were really that sharp, but they did enough damage to knock Mika down to the ground, all bruised up.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked over to her to help her up. She groaned.

"How did you do that?" She asked?

I smiled sheepishly. "I figured out a few tricks with my ukaku."

We managed to get up the ladder back to the main floor of Anteiku before Mika collapsed into one of the chairs.

I was concerned. "Are you alright?"

Mika brushed it off. "I'll be fine by tomorrow morning, but I don't think I can get to my apartment."

"So what are you going to do?"

"Do you mind if I stay at your place tonight?"

…Eh?

* * *

**Woo this went on way longer than I originally planned. Oh well. Random inspiration struck and all that good stuff. This chapter isn't necessarily as good as my other chapters, but that's mainly because I realized that I made a pretty big mistake partway through. I managed to patch it up somewhat though, so it should be alright-ish. **


	9. Embarrassing Moments

**So I somewhat goofed up in the last chapter, had to make some hasty changes because I realized that I made a really trivial error that ended up blowing up a bit of my plot. Hopefully I won't have to do that this chapter.**

* * *

Getting Mika to my place took a bit of time. It didn't exactly help that she needed me to support her by the shoulder all the way back. But eventually, we managed it.

I'm not going to lie, this is pretty awkward for me. I mean, I've never actually had a girl stay over at my place before. Ever. So this is really weird for me. And awkward. Emphasis on the awkward part of this.

Mika looked around at the place that I call home. "Huh. I like this. It's nice and simple."

And it really was. I hadn't really bothered decorating the place. The furniture was neatly placed, with a large couch against the wall, with an eating table right next to it and a kitchen only a couple of meters away. I didn't actually cook, so the kitchen was somewhat pointless. It already had all the pots, pans and cutlery though, so I didn't do anything to it. No point messing around with it when cooking could become a possibility to me in the near future. There was a small television for when I wanted to check the news. My laptop sat on a small desk on the wall across from the couch.

Down the hall was all the other stuff in the house, including a bathroom and bedroom, as well as a closet for my clothes. So yeah, that's pretty much my condo in a nutshell. Oh, and there was my little lab. I managed to convert the last chamber that I had into a lab where I could do a bunch of my R&amp;D for ghoul benefits.

Eventually, I got Mika to the couch where both of us just plopped down on it. We just sat there, regaining some energy before Mika spoke up again.

"You know, I thought you would be even more exhausted than me. Ukaku ghouls tire out pretty quickly after all."

I grimaced. "Let's just say Andy was very thorough in training my stamina."

Thorough was a light word to use though. Andy had me run about 10k every single day with my ukaku active in order to increase my stamina. And fifty pound weights. On each of my limbs. I didn't even know they made weights that small and heavy. I'm still amazed that I survived that. Granted, I did my own flying training afterwards with the weights after I learned that I could fly, but it wasn't as bad as when Andy made me do all that running.

"Speaking of training, how did you learn to fly? You never did tell the rest of us how you pulled it off. It looked even better than Sosei's flying." Mika asked.

Oh yeah, that. It's a tad bit embarrassing how I did it.

"Well, I may have looked up videos on how birds take flight and then tried mimicking the same actions with my kagune." I said.

Mika stared for a few seconds before she laughed almost uncontrollably.

"Oh come on, give me a break. How else was I supposed to learn?" I complained.

Mika managed to catch her breath and reply. "I mean, I guess that was your best way of learning. But it's so funny! I never thought you would do something so hilarious. So how were your first few flights?"

For a girl that's supposed to be exhausted from our earlier spar, she's way more active than I thought she would be. Oh well. Question first.

"I crashed into a brick wall a couple of times."

"How do you do that? You have to be pretty much dive bombing to crash when you're flying, don't you?"

"…"

"You were, weren't you?" Mika said, knowing the answer already.

I sighed. "I was trying to see if executing a dive attack was possible. It worked on Kaneki when I dive bombed him the night we got him to Anteiku."

"Well, I guess that worked out." Mika said. A few seconds later, she let out a huge yawn.

Well, time to sleep. Wait a second… crap.

"Hold on a moment. I only have one bed. Crap. This is a problem." I said.

What do I do? The couch isn't meant to be slept on, and I'm pretty sure everyone hates sleeping on the floor. Ugh. Why do I forget these things at points that I really need to remember them?

Mika's small laugh brought me out of my thoughts. "Just share it with me then."

…WHAT?

Apparently my face was bright red, because Mika continued. "Oh don't think of it like that. It's just a good way for the both of us to sleep comfortably. Your bed is pretty big, right?"

I nodded, still unable to speak. Queen-sized, so spacing won't be too bad I guess.

"Then that's plenty of room for us to sleep without you worrying about anything."

I mean, I guess there is.

Suffice to say, after a few more awkward moments where I finally helped Mika onto my bed and I got on the other side. A few moments later, both of us were out like lights.

* * *

The next morning I woke up, I made to get out of bed. Until I realized about ten seconds later that I was being restrained in the bed by a pair of arms around my waist.

Wait, there shouldn't be a pair of arms there… Oh wait, Mika. That's right, she's staying at my place for the night. And we shared my bed. Oh god that sounds so wrong. We were on opposite sides of the bed. And I guess somehow I got turned into Mika's personal teddy bear while the both of us were asleep.

I tried slowing easing myself out of Mika's hold on me, but that only caused her to hold on tighter to me. I think my face is turning more and more red by the second. And, OH GOD, is she wearing only her underwear?

Well this is a very embarrassing problem. I don't have a way to get out of the bed. So glad I don't have any roommates right now. I'd never hear the end of this. Goddammit Mika. Well, might as well try waking her up.

"Umm, Mika?"

"Zzz…"

Why does her sleeping sound so cute? But I digress. I really need to get back to doing the research that I need to do.

"Mika, could you let me go? I kind of need to get up and get some things done."

She didn't respond. I finally managed to squirm my way out of the hold she had on me. But geez, that was so embarrassing. I mean, she was in only her underwear. So scary. Which reminds me, breakfast.

I managed to find a partly opened package of meat in my fridge. I can probably share this with Mika when she wakes up. I doubt that a good night's rest is going to be enough for her to perk up. She probably needs some food as well. I mean, we did have a sparring session the night before.

I ate about half of the package, leaving the rest for Mika before I went to my lab to do some experimenting. There was something from the other day that had me thinking about potential ideas for the pills. Andy had sent me a box with what he said was an Rc suppressant, along with an explanation of what it did. I'm not sure how he got it. I thought only the CCG had Rc suppressants available for access. And apparently it was just for torture. I mean, I know what Rc suppressants do, so I'm not sure what Andy wants me to do with it. Unless…

Oh that bastard. I get it. He wants me to figure out how to synthesize it. I could probably do it with my analyzer, but finding a use for it is going to be a completely different story. Maybe I could do an experiment with it, make it useful somehow in my enzyme pill. Wait a second, could it be that simple?

I'll have to try it some other time though. There are other more important things for me to do. Like homework. Wait no, I finished that. But there's still other stuff.

A yawn from the door of the lab distracted me from what I was focusing on. I turned around to see Mika (thank god she has her clothes on) looking at me.

"Morning. Sleep well?" Mika asked.

"Just until I realized that you were using me like a large teddy bear." I said. Which was actually only about three seconds before I woke up, really.

Mika laughed. "I'm sorry, but you were so warm that I couldn't resist."

Crazy person. But I guess I'm crazy also. Why else would I be friends with someone who's also crazy?

"There's some meat on the counter for you." I said.

"Arigato."

A few minutes later, she came back after eating. "So what are you working on right now?"

I shrugged. "Mostly just trying to figure out how I'm going to distribute the pills once I can start producing them at a really fast rate. We can't just have tons of ghouls pouring into Anteiku for the pills. That would draw too much attention."

Mika nodded. "I don't think we want the CCG on our doorstep just because we figured out a way to let ghouls eat regular human food. Speaking of food, have you figured out anything about synthesized meat yet?"

I nodded. "I actually found an article just recently about some scientists who were able to synthesize beef by harvesting some muscle cells from a live cow. We might be able to reproduce that effect with human muscles."

Mika frowned. "I doubt it's as simple as that."

"Yeah, it's not. We'd have to nurture the cells for around eight weeks at least in order to produce something the size of a hamburger. And apparently it's really expensive as well." I said.

"So we have two problems for this. One is the amount of time that we have to take to actually grow the meat, and the other is the costs."

I nodded. "So in other words, if we wanted to do something like this, we'd have to collect a large of amount of human muscle cells."

"Wait a second. We?" Mika asked.

I looked at her. "What? I can't do something on this grand of a scale by myself. And I can't just ask humans for help, they'd be too suspicious."

"So you're asking someone like me to help you with this? Are you sure?" Mika asked.

"Why not? You're smart, you're in a biology department, and you're pretty much in on all this stuff as well as I am. I'm actually getting my research degree once I fly back to Massachusetts after this term is over. Once I get my degree, I'm coming back to the Tokyo and we'll be able to continue working on this. Am I sure? Absolutely." I said.

"Eh? You're getting your degree already? But you're the same age as the rest of us. How can you be getting your degree so quickly?" Mika asked.

"I don't like to brag about this that much, but I'm actually the top of my class at MIT. I just don't do the extracurricular activities that other people do." I said.

"So how many credits do you need until you graduate?" Mika asked.

"…"

"Sora?"

"I could have graduated last year if I wanted." I said.

Mika looked at me suspiciously. "How old were you when you started college?"

I'll admit, the look she was giving me made chills run down my spine. Best answer her question as quickly as possible. "…15."

"And you haven't graduated already because?"

"…I was finishing up all the credits required to get my research degree directly."

"Crazy research-driven nerd." Mika muttered.

"So all that stuff aside, you'll be working on this with me in the future, right?" I asked.

Mika flushed red before smacking the top of my head with her palm. "Of course I am! If you're asking me, then I'm not saying no."

A few seconds later, she gave me a peck on the cheek and walked out. "I'm going home. See you on Monday."

Did she just whack me and then kiss me?

I was too distracted with that for the rest of the day so I ended up just playing tetris while trying to wrap my head around what just happened.

* * *

Monday was quite the eventful day. I still haven't seen Nishiki in school since the incident with Kaneki, Hide and Touka. Where could he be? He's definitely not in the hospital. He's probably at wherever he stays, but as of right now, I have no idea where that is. Eh, I'll just find him later. I'm going to need him when the time comes.

Touka isn't at work today. I'm guessing that she's studying for that classical literature test that she has coming up in a few days. Ah the struggles of the young and average students. (Don't you dare mention that I'm young also. I know I am).

The Fueguchi family is still at Anteiku. I have to admit, it's nice seeing them around here. Ryouko is such a nice person. And Hinami is this bright and bubbly little child (gotta remember that she's old enough to be middle school) that can make almost anyone around her smile.

Apparently there have been dove sightings in the area. That could prove to be a problem for us, especially if they're hunting for someone in particular. I don't think they're hunting for me or Kaneki though. I covered up our tracks pretty well.

"Kaneki-kun, are you free tonight?"

"Um, yes. Do you need me to tidy up the shop or something?"

"I'd like you to go with my staff to get food supplies."

I watched as Kaneki's face turned from curious to downright terrified. I'm pretty sure I knew what Yoshimura had in mind, but Kaneki didn't. And while that made him terrified, I was very sorely tempted to laugh at him. Judging by the trembling mess right next to me, Mika was about to as well.

Our relationship really hasn't changed that much since that small kiss. Alright, fine, it's changed significantly since that kiss. I used to keep people at a distance regardless of how close they were as a friend. Ever since coming to Tokyo, Mika has been slowly cracking that shell. While it would suck from my regular standpoint, I was actually enjoying this change. The two of us aren't dating, but I'm pretty happy with how we've developed as friends.

"I-I'm not going to kill any—" Kaneki began.

"Ah, you're mistaken." Yoshimura said.

Mika couldn't hold it anymore. She excused herself to the break room so she could laugh away without anyone there to see it (except Hinami and Ryouko-san). I on the other hand just barely managed to keep it suppressed. Well, time to act like the half-ghoul senior that I am to him.

I put my hand on Kaneki's shoulder. "It's nothing that dramatic. I have a good idea of what you're going to be doing, and I can tell you right now that there is nothing to do with killing people."

Kaneki sighed in relief. "I guess I can do it then."

"Manager?" I asked.

"Yes Sora-kun?"

"Do you mind if I go with Kaneki? There's something that I want to collect for my research."

Yoshimura looked thoughtful for a second before he nodded. "Yes. That should be fine. I'll contact Yomo-kun and tell him to expect two people."

I nodded. "Thank you sir."

* * *

Kaneki looked nervous as we waited for Yomo.

"So what's Yomo like?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I've heard he doesn't like talking that much, so don't bother trying to strike a conversation with him. If he wants to talk, he'll talk."

"Oh."

A car came by a few moments later, with a man that I assumed was Yomo coming out.

"Are you Yomo-san?" I asked.

Yomo nodded. "Hurry up and get in."

During the car ride, Kaneki kept on trying to strike up a conversation (why didn't he listen). It became pretty awkward for him.

We finally reached our destination, a ledge, where I looked around, trying to figure out where we would be scavenging for food.

Kaneki ended up leaning on the railing trying to figure out what we were supposed to be doing when Yomo noticed where he was.

"Oi, that part's broken."

A bit late on the call, Yomo. A few milliseconds later, the railing collapsed, and Kaneki fell.

"Uwaah!"

I facepalmed. He'd be fine, but finding food was still going to be a problem.

Another scream pierced the silence. I think Kaneki found what we're looking for.

Yomo jumped down right after he heard the scream. I figured I should follow, so I jumped as well,

"Is this your first time seeing a dead body?" Yomo asked Kaneki, who currently had a look of absolute terror on his face.

Yomo continued. "There was another car parked up there, wasn't there? It probably belonged to this human. Many people die here of their own free will. The reason that humans don't know of this place, is because we dispose of everything."

It's kind of sad though. The very idea that humans would choose to end their own lives. I can understand how some of them feel hopeless. And while I would prefer to help them if I could, it would also make it harder for ghouls. We would be forced to hunt more, and that would bring us into more and more conflict. Between saving a few people and preventing a purge, preventing the purge took first priority. Maybe one day I can do both, but not anytime soon.

"So the people at Anteiku have chosen to eat people who commit suicide, huh? I guess there's no need to injure people then." Kaneki asked.

I shook my head. "Yes and no. Some ghouls choose to rely solely on eating suicide victims, while other ghouls like Touka and the others still kill and eat people."

Yomo nodded. "I only do this because Yoshimura asked me to. If I didn't, then I wouldn't bother coming here."

He tossed a bag over to us. "Put the things I hand you from his body in here."

Kaneki looked rather reluctant to do it, so I complied with Yomo's request. "Sure. But one quick thing Yomo. Do you mind if I take a small chunk of muscle for research purposes?"

Yomo simply nodded his head and we were off fitting the body into the bag.

A few minutes later we had finished up and were back in the car. As promised, Yomo handed me a chunk of muscle in a bag so I could take it home.

As Yomo was driving, he suddenly stopped the car and got out. From my back seat, I wasn't sure why. About a minute later, my questions were answered as I saw Ryouko Fueguchi get into the back row with me.

"Ah, Sora-kun, Kaneki-kun. This day feels different, huh? Since Kaneki-kun is always with Touka-chan and Sora-kun is always with Mika-chan."

Well, she's technically not wrong. Mika and I almost always work as a team, while Kaneki gets to be a… victim under Touka's tutelage, I guess. I mean, Touka's always yelling at Ken here for making small mistakes at work, which is funny because she doesn't yell at anyone else if they make those same mistakes.

"Touka's taking a break today. The two of them are standing in for her." Yomo said.

"Two of you standing in for one girl?" Ryouko asked.

Oh man. I had to defend myself. I couldn't go on letting her think that it took the two of us to fill in for the job of one girl. "I actually requested to come collect food with Yomo so I could get some samples for my research."

"Oh, that's great that you're still working on your research." Ryouko said.

I smiled. "My research isn't going to be done until the day that we can live in peace with the humans."

Kaneki turned to look at me, wonder on his face. "Peace? With humans?"

I nodded. "It's the only way we'll be able to live in this world without fear."

Ryouko smiled. "I hope that one day, I can see that peace too."

"I'll do my best."

We drove on for a few minutes longer before Yomo spoke up.

"What were you doing out alone like that Ryouko-san? You know it's dangerous."

Ryouko stayed silent for a moment. "You're angry, aren't you? That I went to my husband's grave?"

Yomo replied. "That's not the problem. The problem is you moving around alone. The reason the doves are here isn't because of Rize. They came here looking for you."

"I know. I heard from Yoshimura. The reason I went to my husband's grave was to bury his mask. It's no good if I rely on him forever."

The CCG is here because of Ryouko-san? Are they tracking down her deceased husband's remaining family? That's dedication. A really bad dedication, but that's still dedication. Have to respect them for that.

* * *

When I finally made it home that night with my sample of human muscle cells, I was not expecting anyone at my door.

"Mika? What are you doing here? And why are there suitcases in front of my door?"

Mika shifted somewhat nervously. "Well, I just finished the terms of leasing for my apartment, so I just moved out today. Originally, I was going to stay at Anteiku until I could find another apartment," her tone brightened up "but then I found a better idea."

I still didn't see what this had to do with her standing in front of my condo. "And this better idea is?"

"I'll be staying at your house from now on! We're officially roommates as of this day!"

…Wait what?

Man I need to work on being able to say no to her. The total amount of times I have said no to her is still zero.

* * *

**I know, I know, it looks like I'm setting up Sora and Mika as a couple. And you would be right. I am. But it's not going to get to that point yet. I'm going to let it stew for another couple of chapters before I make it official.**

**So yeah, that happened. Also, the synthesized beef is actually a real thing, you can go look it up if you want to.**

**Until next chapter then,**

**XWX**


	10. Tragedy Strikes

**So yeah, if you guys haven't figured it out yet, shit's going to go down this next chapter, somewhat. Also: 10 chapters! Woo! **

* * *

The amount of embarrassing stuff that happens at my home is ridiculous. First it was finding out that I could've looked at my desk to find the directions to Anteiku, then it was Mika staying at my place because she was too exhausted to get back home. And then this shit happens. Mika is officially moved in to my condo. I can't even say no to Mika, mainly because she's my friend and I can't really bring myself to say no to people like her.

So yeah, that happened. Mika and I both agreed on one thing though. No one else would know about this. It's already embarrassing enough for me without other people knowing, so there's no need for people to figure out that Mika will probably be using as a teddy bear for a good few months at least. Lovely.

On the upside, since Mika's here as a semi-permanent resident, I now have an easy-to-access lab partner when the need arises.

All that home-related stuff aside, we're at Anteiku right now. Nishiki still hasn't shown up at school, so I guess the injury he got must have been pretty serious for him to take so long to recover. And I still have no idea where he is. Bummer.

Aside from that, the Fueguchi family is here again, with Ryouko talking to Yoshimura downstairs. I took some meat up for Hinami a few moments ago. Touka's on break still for studying and Mika is at home doing homework ("I told you that you could finish it in class if you were paying attention." "Well excuse me for not having a supercomputer for a brain like you do."). I explained the situation to Yoshimura so he understood that today would mostly be handled by me, Enji, Kaneki and Riku.

Riku just left a few minutes ago though. If I'm not mistaken, he's actually going back to Kyoto to stay with his family. Apparently he only came to Tokyo because Andy asked him to help me out until I was all set. Yoshimura told me that he asked for a job here about two weeks before I got to Japan, so he could help me adjust when I needed to. Now that I'm settled in, he's going back to Kyoto. I guess I won't be seeing him for a while then. Pity.

Thankfully enough, workload has never been that much of a problem here at Anteiku, seeing as we're a smaller coffee shop than most. I still have a bit of trouble wrapping my head around that. I mean, who would ever guess that something as inconspicuous as a coffee shop would be a hub of activity for ghouls in the 20th ward.

At the same time though, I kinda wish that Mika was here with me. Ryouko was absolutely right when she said that Mika and I were always together (not that way dammit. I know what you readers are thinking). We worked so well as a team that it was ridiculous. Both of us had this knack for knowing when something was needed in the shop and we always got it done in record time.

"Kaneki-kun." Enji said. "Could you go get some coffee beans from upstairs for me? They have a red label."

"Ok, Koma-san."

As Kaneki walked upstairs, something suddenly went off in my head. "Did you tell him that Hinami-chan is upstairs?"

Enji frowned. "No, I don't think I did. It should be fine though. He probably won't go into the room where she is."

"I'm willing to bet my right arm that he's going to by accident." I muttered.

A few moments later, Enji and I both picked up a scream from upstairs, faint but very definite.

"Told you." I said.

Enji sighed. "I guess you did."

A couple minutes later Kaneki came down with a peeved look on his face.

"Welcome back Kaneki-kun. Hinami-chan is in the room upstairs, so you shouldn't go in, k?"

"…Say that sooner, please."

"You saw her eating, didn't you?"

After getting a confirmation from him, Enji continued. "Oh my. That's not good, since girls don't really want to be seen like that. Did you at least apologize?"

Kaneki looked confused. "Was it something I needed to apologize for?"

I facepalmed. "Lesson one of Ghoul Sociology 101, Introduction to Ghoul Sociology. ALWAYS apologize if you walk in on someone eating. Especially if said ghoul is a girl. No ghoul likes being disturbed during their meals."

"Ok ok I get it." Kaneki said, hands raised in defense.

"In that case, take this opportunity to apologize when you take this to her." Enji said, handing Kaneki a cup of coffee.

As Kaneki walked upstairs again, I spoke to Enji. "I'm going to keep track of him to make sure he does this right."

I went upstairs to keep watch on Kaneki. As he walked in, I walked by the door to listen.

"S-Sorry about earlier. Please take this drink as part of our service." Kaneki said.

Well, that's handled nice and well. I can go back then. As I was about to go though, Hinami spoke up.

"Umm, Onii-chan? What's it like being human?"

Huh?

"Sora nii-san told me about how both you and him used to be human. But Sora nii-san said he was already part-ghoul back then. So what is it like being a regular human?"

Hinami's curiosity is really cute. It's nice seeing her all inquisitive like that sometimes. Although that's a bit of a weird question to be asking him. Makes sense that she'd ask him that question and not me.

"Well, I guess it was safer in a way, because I didn't have to worry about being hunted down all the time. Honestly, I never thought ghouls were all that much to worry about until I met one in person."

It's weird. I've never thought about the lives of regular humans before. Most of them don't even realize we're all around them until we're out to eat them personally. It's such a strange life, when you think about it. Well, it is for me. I've always lived knowing that ghouls exist. It certainly gives me a different perspective when it comes to how humans and ghouls interact.

"Ah! This is 'Monochrome Rainbow,' isn't it? Hinami-chan, you read Takatsuki-san's works?"

I'm pretty sure Hinami's thoughts were the exact same as mine at that moment. "Eh?" Makes sense I guess. Kaneki's already shown that he loves Sen Takatsuki's books, courtesy of when Rize asked him about it before trying to eat him. Still though, that was unexpected.

Oh look. On he goes. "That's impressive because the content is difficult. But 'Monochrome Rainbow' is a collection of short stories, so I wonder if it's relatively easy to read? Mine would be the insanity-based one, 'Summer Diary,' or maybe the really comedic 'Resentments.'"

Oh man. He's going crazy. Never in my life have I seen someone so excited to see books by a specific author. That's dedication to a writer at its finest (creepiest?).

Hinami spoke up. "Um… Koyo…tokiame?"

"Koyotokiame… oh! Sayoshigure! It's the prototype for 'Black Goat's Egg.' It's surprisingly scary, but pretty good, right?"

This is easily the most energetic I have ever seen Kaneki. Who knew books could motivate him like that?

"Protype? Sayoshigure… How should I read this?"

"Ajisai."

And this is 'atanoshi?'"

"That's 'anrakushi.'"

Oh hey. This could actually work really well for the both of them.

"This is 'haku?'"

"You can read this as 'hakuhyou,' but you can also read it as 'usurai.' That one sounds prettier, right?"

"Mhmm!"

Ok, now I feel like I'm intruding on a precious moment. I better get back downstairs. Before I did though, I got changed out of my waiter uniform and put it away.

When I got down, I saw Enji standing there.

"So, did he apologize?" Enji asked.

I shrugged. "Call me crazy, but I think Hinami just made a new best friend."

Enji raised his eyebrow. "Really now? What makes you say that?"

I chuckled. "People who read the same books tend to get along really well."

"Ahh. I see."

"Either way, I'm actually heading off now. I'll see you later." I said.

As I started walking home, I couldn't help but smile. I think Kaneki has found a way to really connect with the ghoul world. Meeting Hinami will definitely change his perspective on ghouls. And that's really what we want. To be able to connect the worlds of ghouls and humans.

A few minutes later, I arrived home to see Mika with a couple of human arms.

"Ah, Sora. You're back. You hungry?"

"Mika, when did you go hunting?"

"Well, about an hour ago. I just got home with the food."

"Well, thanks."

After we finished eating the arms (how do ghouls deal with the fingers? They're so tough to eat), Mika spoke up. "So how was work today?"

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to work efficiently when your regular work partner is home doing homework? I mean, I like Enji as a person, but how do you get anything done quickly with him?" I asked.

Mika laughed. "Oh don't worry about that. Enji's preferred work partner is Kaya. They always work well as a team. Besides, your standard for efficiency has always been way above everyone else. Lighten up, it's not that bad."

Oh… so that's why our coworkers look at me weird when I wonder why we couldn't have gotten something done about one and a half seconds earlier.

"Other than that though, I think Hinami made a new best friend."

"Really now? Who is it?" Mika asked.

"Kaneki."

"Wait, what? How did this happen?"

I explained what happened with the two of them. Mika smiled.

"It's nice to see Hinami making more friends. She's so shy that making friends is a big challenge for her."

I definitely have to agree with that. I still don't understand though. What is it with Hinami and being shy?

"So what's your plan for the rest of the day?" Mika asked.

Oh yeah, that's right. Plans.

"Remember how I brought home some muscle last night?" I asked.

Mika nodded. It had been a rather exciting moment for her, especially when she heard that I was going to test the whole experiment with growing the meat.

"We're starting the experiment today." I said.

Mika's face broke into a grin.

A few minutes later when we were in the lab, Mika and I had separated the muscle that we got into about twenty different portions that we would test with different kinds of nurturing fluids and conditions to see the best conditions.

Hopefully we'll get some good results the next day.

* * *

The next day was both good and bad for me.

I was at home today. Mainly because my shift wasn't up at all today at Anteiku. Mika, on the other hand, had work today.

The good news was that the samples were showing a bit of growth, some of them more than others. Looking at the samples, I found two that showed promise.

When Mika and I split up the samples, we set it up so that there would be two groups. One group would test the different temperatures and which one would be best for growth, while the other would test which solution would work best.

I was preparing the new sample when Mika came back home from work early.

"Mika? You're home early. We got some results from our initial tests. You should come and look at these numbers."

"Ryouko-san was killed last night."

"Samples 10 and 15 are showing— What?"

I turned to Mika to see a look of utter sadness.

"Was it the CCG?" I asked.

Mika nodded. "Two investigators from the local area, two from the main office."

I was utterly shocked. Ryouko? Of all the people to die, it was Ryouko? Why did it have to be her? I could understand if it was someone way more violent, but Ryouko dying doesn't make sense.

"How about Hinami? Is she alright?"

Mika nodded. "Kaneki managed to bring her back to Anteiku. But the manager is considering moving her to the 24th Ward when the time comes."

Mika's hand tightened into a fist. I didn't get it.

"I thought there were only twenty-three wards in Tokyo."

Mika took a breath before explaining. "The 24th Ward isn't actually a ward. You know the underground labyrinth I showed you Saturday? The deepest part of it is known as the 24th Ward. It's a hellhole for ghouls. Out of all the wards out there, the 24th Ward is worst one to live in."

"…"

"I know. It's painful to think about."

"Yeah… Anteiku's not doing anything about the CCG?"

Mika shook her head. "And risk the CCG coming down on top of our heads? Sora, you know better than that."

I nodded. Sad as it was, it made sense. We couldn't stand up against the entire CCG. "I take it not everyone agreed with this?"

Mika nodded. "Touka reacted worse than the others. I have a feeling she's going to do something drastic."

I frowned. "Do we know anything about the investigators in question?"

Mika shook her head. "We know what they look like, but we don't know what they can do. Here's the pictures of them." She said, handing her phone to me with the pictures on them.

Looking at the pictures I frowned. Two of the guys looked like they were greenhorns when it came to ghoul hunting, which didn't really bother me too much. The white-haired guy in the picture looked like he was practically dead. But for some reason, that gave me the feeling that he would be even more dangerous. The guy on his right seemed intimidating as well. The suit hid it well, but without a doubt there was a large layer of muscle, just looking at his size. It was pretty easy to differentiate the local area and main branch investigators.

"I really hope Touka doesn't try what I think she's going to try."

Mika nodded in agreement. "She could get herself killed if she wasn't careful."

I sighed. "Let's just hope she gets out of this alive."

* * *

The next day I had taken to walking around the ward, doing nothing. I texted Yoshimura, telling him that I had to think about some things regarding yesterday. He understood.

Eventually, I found myself in front of an udon shop. I figured I could just do some eating and figure out how well my second pill worked out. I haven't actually tried it out myself. I made some small tweaks to it, but for the most part it's the same.

I popped a pill in my mouth, waited for a few minutes before I ordered a plain udon.

Just before I began eating, I heard a set of footsteps coming to the shop as well. I ignored them and continued eating. No taste at all. Neat. My tongue feels a bit numb though. I'll have to do something about that. Maybe see how little numbing agent I can put in and still maintain the complete lack of taste.

"I'll have the shrimp set, but add a handful of chicken meat in it too." (Isn't that a bit too much protein?)

"Again, Nakajima-san?"

"Oh shut up." (Ah, so this is a regular thing.)

"Shrimp and vegetables, large." (Oh good. Someone knows that vegetables are important to human health.)

"I'm amazed. You actually dug through that grave all by yourself and found what you were looking for. Honestly, you didn't seem like the guy to something so unrefined." Wait a second, what did he just say? Who dug through a grave?

When I looked to my right, I almost froze. There were three of the investigators involved in Ryouko's death eating right next to me. Including the bodybuilder guy. I managed to stay calm though. Much as I might dislike them for their involvement in her death, I can't do anything right now. Besides, listening to their conversation might provide some information that I need. So that's why Ryouko-san died. They found out she was a ghoul by digging into her husband's grave and finding the mask. My hand tightened for a second before I managed to relax it. I can't let them know that this is affecting me.

"One can't achieve their goals unless they choose a way to do so." The large person said, breaking his chopsticks.

"…Um, what kind of things are taught at the academy?"

Oh what the hell, the CCG has an academy? What next? Are they going to have a daycare as well?

"Information and laws related to ghouls. After that, it was nothing except building up one's body. There are rules so that I can't talk about it."

Wow. That's a lot of work the CCG puts into killing ghouls.

"There were girls there as well, right? How were they?" (Someone has too much time on his hands.)

"Kusaba… stop that. It's embarrassing." (Oh thank heavens someone with decency.)

The one from the main branch answered. "There were two in my class. Both were wise and had a lot of determination."

"Oh? Do you meant with them even now?" (Five bucks says that they died in action.)

"No. Both of them were killed in the line of duty." (I called it.)

"Ah… killed in the… huh?" (Welcome to reality, investigator, where nothing is simple and death is a possibility every day.)

"I-I'm sorry…I—"

"It happens all the time. Even earnest people often throw their lives away. I'll be going on ahead. You two should be careful, particularly now." (Wow. That's cold. And yeah they should be careful.)

After the big guy left, the other two guys stayed for a couple minutes longer before they started walking. I decided to start moving around that time as well. I can pull off the inconspicuous act really well. And I might be able to get some information. It's all about staying the perfect distance away from them to eavesdrop and still look completely harmless.

"Even earnest people often throw their lives away, huh?"

"But people should just work in moderation, shouldn't they?" (Clearly this guy still doesn't get it.)

"Don't say stupid things. We have a lot of work to do. So do the other wards. This recent case is a lot like the 'binge eater' one. Speaking of that case, how's it going?" (Going to a very dead end, seeing as Rize is already dead.)

"Right now the 'Gourmet' is more important, isn't he?"

"It'd be great if the guys from the main office could take care of that for us,"

"The branch director said he didn't want to lose such a big achievement to other guys so he hasn't asked for any input on the case." (Jokes on the branch director. There's no achievement for finding a ghoul long dead. Is there?)

"It seems that Amon-san (so that's the big guy's name) doesn't have any interest in big achievements. I feel like he's only acting out of his sense of justice. We're really weak, aren't we?"

Nakajima (I think that's the guy's name) patted the other guy on the back. "It can't be helped if you're comparing yourself to the main office guys, Kusaba (So that's his name)."

"…No. I've always wanted a nice desk job. But when I see him, somehow even I start feeling a little fired up. I'll give it my best at the crime scenes from now on—"

My nose picked up what was coming about half a second before it did happen. Kusaba was instantly killed by a hooded ghoul wearing a rabbit mask. And a wig too. There's no way that hair is naturally pink. Maybe it's dyed, but I doubt it. It would be too suspicious. It's definitely a wig. And that speed means that this ghoul is almost definitely an ukaku ghoul.

All the same, I did NOT expect that to happen just now. As the ghoul was about to impale the Nakajima, Amon pushed him out of the way just in time. Talk about lucky.

Unfortunately for me, I was in an extremely awkward spot. Best course of action would probably just be to run the other way pretending to be scared shitless. I think I'll just do that and… HOLY SHIT did the ghoul just fire kagune shards at me?! Oh wait, I'm safe. Phew.

I ran off but stayed close enough to view what was going on. As the ghoul was about to kill Amon with his (her?) kagune, another kagune, a rinkaku, stopped the ghoul. Wait a second. That doesn't make sense. Why would a ghoul stop another ghoul from killing an investigat— Oh wait. That makes sense. So that's how investigators fight ghouls. They can't match us physically so they use the kagune of ghouls to have a chance at hurting us. So that's what the suitcases are for. They hide the kagune. But how does that work? Questions later, observations first.

The pale sickly man I saw in the photo proceeded to provoke the ghoul into attacking him, before getting a clean hit on the arm of said ghoul. The ghoul ran off right after that. I checked to make sure that no one was looking before I was off after that ghoul as well. Where could that ghoul have gone?

A loud stream of curses from a familiar voice led me to a rooftop where my eyes locked on to a very familiar person nursing an injury on her arm.

She stopped nursing the wound for a second when she saw me.

"Really, Touka?"

Touka gritted her teeth. "Shut up Sora!"

I sighed. "At the very least try to think through a plan before you go charging in like that. And why were you shooting your kagune at me?"

"What kind of ghoul doesn't help another ghoul kill an investigator?" Touka asked, indignant.

"Well for one thing I had no guarantee that the sick-looking guy wouldn't appear. And I had no idea how they fought. I didn't want to take risks. But that aside, why'd you just charge at the man like that?"

Touka gritted her teeth again. "He only sees killing us as a game. And the way he was grinning about killing us. It's despicable!"

Well that explains why she let herself get so open. "Do you want any help with that wound?"

Touka shook her head. Stubborn girl. Well, at least she's in a safe area right now. Speaking of which, the patio right below us smells like Touka. Maybe that's why she stopped here.

"Just don't do anything stupid again anytime soon, alright?"

"I'm definitely going to kill that guy."

Something tells me that she's going to ignore me and do something stupid again.

* * *

**Well that's a wrap to this chapter. I could go on even longer, but I think this is a decent stopping point right now. Man my chapters keep on getting longer and longer. **

**As always, stay tuned for the next chapter.**

**Peace!**

**XWX**


	11. Almost Regular Days

**MOAR CHAPTERS! Yeah I'm crazy.**

* * *

When I got home, the first thing Mika did was inspect me.

"Umm, Mika? What are you doing?"

"There's a tear on your shirt. What were you doing today?"

Oh. I didn't notice that earlier. Must have happened when Touka shot me.

"Umm, I might have almost gotten impaled by Touka?"

Mika eyes narrowed. "What did she do?"

I sighed. "Long story short? I was testing out my pill on myself when the investigators that were responsible for Ryouko-san's death decided to go to the same place as me. A few minutes later after they finish eating, I follow them to try and find some information. Touka appears and kills one, she's about to kill the other as well when another investigator appears. She tries to kill THAT investigator, and then the old investigator appears and injures her."

I could hear Mika's foot tapping. "And where exactly in this story did you almost get impaled?"

"Umm, I tried to act the part of the scared citizen and run away. Touka shot a bunch of her kagune at me. One of them must have grazed my shirt."

Mika sighed. "At least you're ok."

Yeah I guess. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Just going to give Touka a little lecture. See you later!" And just like that she was out the door.

Oh for the love of god Mika. Just make sure you leave Touka alive. I'd rather not think about

It was late, and while I could do some labwork right now, I was so tired that I fell asleep almost right away.

* * *

The next day was rather uneventful with one exception.

After Kaneki messed up the coffee beans in an order, I ended up covering for a few minutes until I heard Touka running down the stairs and out the side entrance.

Curious, I decided to go upstairs to see if anything had happened. I managed to catch an ongoing conversation between Yoshimura and Kaneki.

"Anteiku exists in order to help others…" Kaneki's voice rang out.

"So then, do you think the ghouls from Anteiku can oppose thousands of police investigators all alone?" Yoshimura asked.

The silence was deafening for a while. I don't blame Kaneki though. He's just been introduced to the world of ghouls. He doesn't really understand that when ghouls do something so drastic, they end up taking the consequences for those actions.

"Manager." Kaneki's voice rang out, piquing my interest again. "You've seen a lot of different things, and I think you're already decisive about it. But, as for me, I wonder if I'm really prepared to face the investigators. And I still don't understand anything about the rules of the ghoul world. That's why I'm going to see everything with my own eyes and then decide what to do!"

With that, he exited the room, leaving the manager to stand there. He didn't even notice me. Talk about tunnel vision.

"Sora-kun, you know you can stop eavesdropping now." Yoshimura's voice rang out.

I walked into the room. "I'm surprised you're letting him go help like that."

Yoshimura shook his head. "I would rather not. But the fact remains that Kaneki-kun is still new to the life of a ghoul."

"Technically, I am too."

"But you were already acquainted with the ghoul world were you not? Your unique heritage as a descendant of ghouls has given you a perspective that no one as a human has ever had." Yoshimura pointed out.

I guess that's true. "All the same, I would also prefer that Touka not die. I don't want to see all the hours I spent tutoring her go to waste."

"Really now?"

I shrugged. "She's not exactly top student material, but she has the right attitude. I'd hate to see someone like her go."

When I got back downstairs I saw Mika waving me over.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You're doing some more eavesdropping."

Wait why?

"I need someone to make sure that their conversation ends well."

"Why can't you do it?"

"Because you already listen in on conversations all the time."

"Hold on a second, how do you know about that?"

Mika looked almost shy for a second before she said "I have my ways."

I don't get it.

We walked over to what I recognized as a side exit to Anteiku that we used to take out the trash. My ears picked up on another conversation really quickly. (What is it with me and eavesdropping on conversations?)

"All your darting around is irritating for a mere human."

"I'm part ghoul too, you know."

"…You're just the remnant of one pretending to be an ally. What if I said this? Go kill those doves in my place. Okay?"

Wow Touka. That's just harsh. I mean, Kaneki just got introduced to the world of ghouls. Are you really going to guilt-trip him with that?

"If you can use Rize's kagune then you might be able to. Right? Can you do it?"

"…"

"You can't, can you? There's no way a weak coward like you could have the courage or preparedness to do that."

You could've tried putting it more lightly for him, Touka.

"I can't depend on the manager or Yomo-san or anyone else either. I already understand all of that. In fact, it'd be better for a murderer like me to die."

That's a… rather harsh way of looking at things.

"I know there are good people among the humans, but ghouls like Ryouko-san and Hinami are killed arbitrarily without being able to help themselves. Without even knowing anything or seeing anything."

After an extended pause, Kaneki spoke up.

"Just like… it's just like you said. I can't kill humans. I don't think that the existence of investigators is necessarily a bad thing. So I can't agree with what you say. But the day I saw Ryouko-san's last moments I did have a strong that. It doesn't matter if it's a human's death or a ghoul's, if that person is someone I know then I can't stand it. If… if you died, Touka-chan, I would probably be sad."

I'll admit, I did not see that coming. Please tell me that the next thing that's coming isn't a "will you go out with me" or something else along that line.

"Wouldn't they make such a cute couple?" Mika said.

"I thought you weren't going to listen in, Mika."

"I changed my mind."

And somehow the two of us are practically best buddies. This is the person that I have the best team synergy with at Anteiku. How did I not know that Mika was a sucker for couples she found adorable? And I don't even think that those two over there would be adorable. I mean, one's a shy pushover while the other has a very short fuse when it comes to said pushover.

Touka spoke up. "Ah, is that so? In the end, what is it that you want to say?"

"Teach me how to use the kagune. I can't kill the investigators, _but doing nothing is also unacceptable_."

Wow. I just called him a pushover and then he shows this side to himself. That and earlier when he was talking to Yoshimura. I have to admit, his resolve to see something through is amazing.

"What are you planning, Bakaneki?"

Oh hey a new nickname for him. Neat.

* * *

The next day was an off day for us at Anteiku. Which is weird. Today's a Saturday. Normally there'd be customers, but Yoshimura told almost all of us that we could take a break, with the exception of Enji and Kaya. I guess that makes sense, seeing as they're the only workers there who don't go to school at all.

The muscle cell samples that Mika and I were working on would take a few days at least to get ready. Mika and I decided to go walking around the city again when I saw Uta walking in the direction of Anteiku.

"Hey Uta."

"Ah, Sora, Mika. Are you two on a date?"

Wait what?

I'm pretty sure both our faces turned bright red when he said this.

Uta laughed. "I'm just joking around. I'm actually in the area to deliver Kaneki his mask."

"You took longer on his mask than you did mine." I noted.

Uta shrugged. "I did something more… complementary to his eyepatch. It took some work to get done. Yours was actually more difficult to make than his, with the request you made and all that. The request you made to your mask took me much longer to make than I thought it would. Other than that, everything else was much easier, with your request for simplicity and all. I just had to use a material that wouldn't break from a few hits."

"Well thanks for that, I guess."

"Either way, I'll see you later."

With that he walked off. I turned to Mika. "Speaking of masks, I don't think I've ever actually seen yours before."

Mika shrugged. "It's actually not that much different from yours. The biggest differences are its color, black, and the fact that there's a rose etched into it. That and the fact that my mask is full-faced, unlike your mask."

That's… pretty different actually. I mean, the general idea is there in that both of our masks are essentially meant to fit our faces, but there's a pretty big difference between her mask and mine. I guess it fits her though, given her kagune and all.

After that short discussion about masks, we spent our time continuing our walk when I heard a voice behind us. "Aneki? Is that you?"

Mika and I both turned around at the same time to see a young boy, he looked like he was around sixteen or seventeen years old. He's a bit taller than me, as well. One of the things that caught my attention though, was how similar he looked to Mika. Which pretty much confirmed my suspicion.

"Seiichi? What are you doing here?" Mika asked.

Mika's younger brother shrugged. "I wanted to see the Kamii campus. I'm thinking of applying for there. But who's this guy?" He asked, looking at me suspiciously. I guess my right eye weirded him out. Nothing like a good ol' case of heterochromia to put people on edge.

I would've answered the guy, but Mika got to it first. "This is Sora. He's a foreign exchange student at Kamii. He's from MIT."

Seiichi's expression morphed into something more akin to curiosity, before he extended his hand. "I'm Seiichi Shiraishi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I took his hand. "Sora Chao. Nice to meet you as well. So what department are you thinking of applying for?"

Seiichi's expression brightened at my question. I'm guessing that he likes academic conversations. "I'm thinking of going into something along the lines of pharmacy. I've always liked understanding how medicine affects the body."

"Then you're going to like what Sora has been working on." Mika said.

Ah crap. Way to really put the spotlight on me. Seiichi turned to me again. "What are you working on? And why did Aneki say I would like it?"

I shushed him for a second. "I can't talk about it out here. Let's go back to my place and I can show you the projects that I've been working on."

When I opened the door to my place, Seiichi's nose twitched.

"Mika, is Sora your boyfriend or something? This place has your smell all over it."

I'm pretty sure Mika and I turned bright red again.

"No! I'm just staying here because my lease agreement from my apartment expired and I didn't have enough money to extend it."

"You know you could've asked otou-san, right?"

"My phone was out of battery."

"Aneki, you never have less than fifty percent battery on your phone. I find that hard to believe."

"…Shut up. I didn't want to pay for more stuff. And Sora's letting me stay for free."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. So what are you working on Sora?"

"Wait for a moment." I said.

I went to my lab and grabbed my most recently tested pill, which had less numbing agent than the previous one.

"This here is an enzyme pill. Taking one will allow you to consume human food and actually absorb the nutrients from it."

Sosei's eyes widened somewhat. "Wait, you're a ghoul?"

I sighed. "Yes, I'm a ghoul. I know, I smell way more human than I do ghoul. And no, I'm not going to tell you why that is. All you need to know is that I'm a one-eyed ghoul."

"Hold on a second. One-eyed ghouls exist?" Seiichi asked.

"Yes they exist. We're practically nonexistent, but we actually do exist, thank you very much. But that aside, you were asking about what I was working on, right? This pill is just one of the things that I'm working on."

"So this allows us to absorb nutrients from human food? How do you handle the taste?"

Ah, smart kid. "There's a numbing agent in this pill that gets delivered directly to the tongue, rendering it unable to taste for about an hour or so. I'm working on a follow-up that will allow us to actually taste human food instead of just tasting really disgusting stuff or nothing.

The look in Seiichi's eyes could only be described as pure excitement. I didn't think someone could get so pumped up about progression in the medical field besides. Mika interrupted the conversation.

"Seiichi, where is dad?"

"Oh yeah. I actually came here by myself. Don't worry about me." He said, seeing Mika's worried glance. "I'm actually going back home later today."

"You mean you came here from Osaka all by yourself?" Mika asked.

Wow. That's far.

"Yep. Don't worry about me though. I'll be fine."

He stayed for a little longer, eating some food before he left. "By the way Mika, I approve."

Wait what?

I turned to Mika, whose face was red once again. I swear, this seems to be happening too much to the two of us today.

After Seiichi left, I turned to Mika. "You want to just observe the samples and see how much progress we've made so far?"

Mika struggled for a few moments before she answered. "Sure… that'll work."

* * *

The next week was rather dull in terms of events that happened. It was pretty regular. We went to school, Anteiku, made coffee, got some tutoring lessons in, all that good stuff. We made it all the way to Friday before something of any real significance happened. I had a break on Friday, which was nice. Mika didn't, which was weird. I checked the shifts though, and it looks like Yoshimura is slowly adjusting the shifts so that Mika and I work on the same days. I guess that's convenient.

Touka had been training Kaneki for a good few days now. And I have to say, I almost felt bad for the poor guy. If I were to guess, Touka probably forced him to pull out his kagune by almost killing him.

The meat growth project that Mika and I had been working on had taken a turn for the better. What was nice about the synthesized meat that we were working on was that the growth was exponential. Which meant that the longer this went on, the faster it went for us. The only problem was getting enough feed for the muscle cells, but that wasn't too hard.

So after school finished and Mika went off to work, I was left to wander around the ward once again. Maybe I'll find something practical to do while I'm at it.

Like figuring out where exactly that pair of misfits is going. And why the hell are they dressed like high school students? I know Touka is one, but that uniform is most definitely not the uniform that her school uses. And why is Kaneki's hair all messed up?

I lost them for a few moments before I saw them at a tall building that I all but recognized from my observations of the important places of the 20th Ward. The CCG office. Wow. What the hell are those two planning? By the time I got close to the entrance, they were already inside, apparently just sitting there waiting for something. Maybe they're there to provide false information? That would make some sense I guess. Still, it's one hell of a risk for them to take.

I would look suspicious if I just walked in or stood outside doing nothing, so I decided to take a look at the board. It was pretty vague with the descriptions of ghouls on there. Makes sense I guess. Smart ghouls tend to hide their faces one way or another, as well as their body physique.

Wait a second. There's a poster with a description of clothes. Must be Hinami. Maybe that's why the suicidal duo went into the CCG building, to throw them off Hinami's scent. Well, here's to hoping that they don't get caught. After having my fill of reading the board (I had a good laugh over the binge eater one, she's dead), I backed up almost into a man that I recognized from last week when Touka went on a bit of a rampage. It was that investigator that stacked up a bunch of muscle. Amon. Hoo boy. Better just play it cool. (Please don't hone in on my eyes)

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said.

Amon just ignored me and went on. Huh. He must have been haunted by Kusaba's death. Poor guy.

Just as he was about to walk in, a pair of familiar faces ran out of the building right past me. My goodness. Did they almost get caught or something? Might as well follow them.

I walked after them, using my nose to follow their scent. Their scent is mixed in with some other random people. Weird. Did they steal those uniforms? When I saw them again, I just walked right to them. They stopped their short conversation and turned to look at me, a very long silence following before I opened my mouth.

"Touka, what did I tell you last week?"

"…Shut up!"

Kaneki looked confused. "What happened last week?"

I sighed. "Last week after her little scuffle with the doves I told her not to do anything stupid anytime soon. I should've figured that she wouldn't listen."

"This wasn't stupid."

I turned to Touka. "Really now? What were you doing in there?"

"Giving them a false lead on Hinami. She should be alright now."

"That was still stupid of you. Wait, let me rephrase. That was practically suicidal"

"Oh shut up it did something good for us."

I sighed. "Let's just get you guys going. I don't think those uniforms are going to return themselves."

* * *

Saturday was ridiculously busy. Yoshimura had an all hands on deck day for work. Which sucked somewhat. Apparently he decided it would be a good idea to have a "Flavor of the Day" sale, where literally every single mix of coffee beans that I had done in the past work days would be available at a small discount. I'm so glad that everyone's working today. I'm not sure what I would do otherwise. Maybe work myself to death.

One of the featured articles in the newspaper today covered Kusaba's death. Honestly, I'm pretty surprised it took this long for the article to show up.

"…want me to say something about doing this at work?" Touka said to Kaneki.

Kaneki was rather quiet for a few moments before he spoke his thoughts. "The guy in that article is definitely one of the investigators from that time. Could it be that Touka-chan…?"

I was quiet. Of course it was Touka. Even if Kaneki wasn't there when it happened, all the details make sense. Pretty much anyone can piece it together. And Kaneki was the one who bore witness to Ryouko-san's death. He would definitely figure it out.

"And what if I did? I'm a murderer. And I won't stop until they're all dead. All of them."

Man, that's chilling.

"I'm going to get a cup of coffee for Hinami." Touka said, completely changing the subject.

"Oh, ok. That reminds me… about Hinami-chan… It seems she doesn't have energy because she hasn't been sleeping at night. I also heard that she hasn't eaten since that happened. I'm worried."

The eating part is concerning. The sleeping part, on the other hand, is a very different story.

"The reason she's not sleeping at night is because you lent her that long book by 'Taka-something.'" Touka said, poking Kaneki with the newspaper.

Yeah that's why.

"There's only one way to make Hinami feel better. That's why we risked our lives going to the CCG." Touka said, before she went upstairs with a cup of coffee.

Please tell me you're not thinking revenge, Touka? I doubt Hinami would appreciate that. At the very least, Touka can try to get Hinami to do something instead of sitting around all day.

I had no idea how much I would regret that thought only a few hours later.

* * *

Overall we had a really busy day with all the flavors that the customers ordered. I think we even had about ten customers sitting around waiting for a waiter/waitress to come around and take their order. At one point, Touka disappeared to check on something before coming back. I think Mika was miffed at that because she had to spend more time taking orders. Around an extra twenty minutes if I remember correctly.

Once things started dying down at work, Mika and I went home. Touka and Kaneki could handle closing the shop by themselves. They had at least gotten that much better at working together. I guess suicide missions into enemy territory work as pretty good bonding experiences.

Once we got home though, my phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

The panicked voice on the other side of the call was completely unexpected. "Sora, there's a problem! Hinami's gone missing!"

Well shit.

* * *

**I almost decided to extend this before deciding against that. Either way, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**XWX**


	12. Conflict and Resolution

**Woo moar chapters. Also sorry for cliffhanger last chapter. This is pretty much a continuation. Also, I think this chapter sucks. You make your own opinions.**

* * *

I stopped where I stood. "Any idea where?"

"No. We need to find her fast."

No debate there. No one wants Hinami dying.

I closed my phone before putting it in my pocket. Mika, who was listening in, handed me my mask before grabbing her own. While I would love to spend more time admiring the craftsmanship on Mika's mask, now wasn't the time.

The moment we were a safe distance from our house to not raise suspicion, both of us put on our masks. A few seconds later, my ukaku burst out of my shoulders and I took flight, while Mika started sprinting over roofs. We'd see each other later.

As I was flying, my phone started ringing again. Barely managing to pick it up (I need a Bluetooth), Kaneki's voice spoke up again.

"Hinami and Touka are at Kasahara Elementary under the bridge. I think there's an investigator there. I'm stopping this other investigator from going there right now."

I didn't bother responding, I just hung up and texted Mika to go to where Touka and Hinami were (Don't ask how I pulled it off while I was flying, I don't know either.

I just hope we're not too late.

* * *

I kept flying for a while until I saw someone observing something down below. I think it's a fight going on. I descended down to the ground above the fight, only to find that the guy next to me had a raven mask on. Hold on a second. He's not Anteiku, is he?

The guy took his mask off for a second just to show me who he was.

"Oh, Yomo-san."

"Sora."

"What are you doing here?"

"Kaneki is fighting below. I want to see how he does?"

"You mean fighting-wise? You know he's probably going to get killed."

"I'm not talking about fighting. Just watch and see."

Well, might as well. Gotta say though. Kaneki is taking one hell of a beating from Amon. He's using his kagune and he still can't do anything. Guess he's been relying on sugar cubes to survive. It's funny, really, how the two of us, both results of an organ transplant, can take such different paths in regards to eating. That mask is interesting though. Uta wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to complement Kaneki's eyepatch.

Amon's muscle is apparently not for show. He has that giant kagune that, while it looked somewhat like a piece of toilet equipment, it was pretty effective at beating down Kaneki. He kept on smashing every single kagune that Kaneki tried to bring out without too much effort.

"What's that kagune? I've never seen anything like it before." I asked.

"It's called a quinque. It's technically a modified kagune."

Oh… so that's what they call it. A quinque. Maybe they modify it after they get a kakuhou. Yeah, that would make sense.

A few moments later, Kaneki got beat down again to the ground again. Instead of receiving a beating while he was down, Amon spoke.

"You, mask wearing demon. There's something that I've always wanted to ask you guys. To fulfill your desire to eat, you murder innocent people calmly. There are many children who have lost their parents to your hands."

Well, that's somewhat true and also false at the same time. And he's talking to a half-ghoul who hasn't hunted even now.

"The surviving people's feelings…sadness, loneliness, the empty lies… have you ever imagined what it's like? You and that other ghoul, 'Rabbit.' That bitch killed my ally just days earlier. Why was he killed? Was it because he was an investigator? Because he was human? What a joke. Was there reasoning in it? Wait, there is a reason for why he was killed. This world is wrong! The ones corrupting it are you monsters!"

Amon must have lost a lot as a child for him to end up like this. He must have been one of the children he just described. I can understand why he would think the way he does, but at the same time, I just can't agree with him.

Perspective is important. So far, I've born witness to three viewpoints. The first one is that of Kaneki's. A man who didn't truly understand the existence of ghouls until he became a meal for one. The second one is that of a ghoul. A person who has always had to hide their nature. To hunt humans because he can't survive any other way. This third one now is Amon's. The viewpoint of a man who has lost so much to ghouls and despises them for his loss.

But that works both ways, doesn't it? It's not like ghouls are the only heartless monsters out there. There are some among humans as well. Ghouls have lost their families almost as much, if not way more than humans have. For every human that loses a family member, there's at least three ghouls who lose a family member as well. It's a painful existence. That much can be said. But at the very least, we can try and do something about it, can't we? That's why I'm here. That's why one-eyed ghouls exist. We're here to bridge the gap. That's the only way. And the gap can be bridged. My family is proof of it. Kaneki can be proof of it as well. We can all live together. The solution's so simple that it's almost ridiculous to think about it. It's not that humans don't understand. It's that they don't know that we understand.

Judging from how Kaneki seems to be getting up after hearing that, I think he gets it too. I was getting worried for a second. I thought he was going to just give up right then. I guess he's found his resolution.

When he spoke, it wasn't the nervous boy that spoke, but rather someone who had finally understood.

"It's just like you were saying. A lot of ghouls have gone down the wrong path. I think the ghoul called 'Rabbit' is one of those types. I too can understand what you're saying. But, it's regrettable that you've decided that everything is wrong while you still don't know your opponent. I can't bring myself to believe that something like that is correct. Everyone should learn more from each other."

As I figured, Amon was confused. I wasn't though. I'll admit, I was actually proud of Kaneki for finding his resolve in spite of everything Amon said. Amon spoke up.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand you at all."

He needs to deliver the message.

"In that case, I'll make you understand."

"Hmph. I wonder, what the hell do you think you are going to teach me?"

Amon pulled back his quinque before swinging at Kaneki. "There's no need for me to lend an ear to some ghoul's bullshit!"

Kaneki was quick to dodge though. I'll admit, I was impressed. I think finding his resolve has strengthened his fighting spirit. The moment he dodged, he tried to charge in for an opening on Amon. Amon just kicked him away though.

As Kaneki got up, I heard something that I never thought I would hear from Kaneki. Taunting. "You didn't amount to much. That kick didn't affect me at all."

I think Amon's temper got the better of him. He started swinging wildly at Kaneki, with Kaneki dodging each swing.

"Try to hit me!"

Oh man. This is new from him. I have never seen him so much as even do something that mean to someone before. I mean, taunting? From Kaneki? Not something you see on a regular basis.

Amon was quick to react to the taunting. Bringing the quinque up, he tried to smash it into the spot where Kaneki was a few milliseconds ago. Amon brought his quinque back around, but before he could react, Kaneki leaped, unzipping his mask at the mouth part while he was at it. I'll admit, I didn't think he was going to take a bite in the middle of the fight, but it was definitely effective. When his kagune came back, it looked much stronger than before.

Something concerns me though. He only took one bite. While that's enough to strengthen his kagune, his hunger is going to get to him pretty soon if he doesn't do something about it.

"Yomo-san, if Kaneki starts losing control, I'll knock him out. You can take care of him afterward, right?"

A grunt of affirmation was all I needed. The two of us watched as Kaneki and Amon charged at each other, with Kaneki cutting right through the quinque. Good. The fight's decided. Amon collapsed for a few seconds. I was about to do something when Kaneki spoke.

"Please run away. Like this, I'll kill you. I want to avoid that situation, so please, go."

"Like hell I will! You think I'll turn my back on a ghoul?"

"GO! I'm begging you, don't make me a killer…"

Amon's eyes widened. Kaneki was really struggling now. "Please, it's too much for me to suppress. Hurry up and go!"

That's my cue.

With that statement, I leapt out of my hiding spot and dive-bombed Kaneki, knocking him out for an instant. He'd be out for a couple minutes at least. Which gave me enough time to grab him and take him up to where Yomo was before jumping back down. I wanted to talk to Amon for a bit.

"Who are you?" Amon asked, looking at me suspiciously.

"I'm sorry." I said. "The ghoul you just met, he's never killed anyone in his life before."

Amon's eyes widened. "That's impossible. He's had to have eaten human before."

I nodded. "And he has. But each time, the food has been given to him. He has never had to bear the burden of killing them himself. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you."

Amon looked confused. "What did you want to talk about?"

I looked up. It was getting dark. "I wanted to tell you this much. Ghouls aren't the only ones messing up the world. It's you as well. We feel the same pain that you do, have the same struggles, only multiplied because we can't eat anything but human. I've tried remedying that, but it's a slow process."

"What do you mean?" Amon asked.

"I'm working on a way to make it so that ghouls don't have to rely only on humans as a food source."

Amon's eyes widened. "That's impossible."

I didn't answer that. Instead, I let him think about the implications.

"If what you're saying is true, then the CCG will start to lose purpose."

I shook my head. "The need will be reduced eventually, but it's still there."

His expression turned grim. He understood that much. As long as there were ghouls that sought to kill for the fun of it, like Rize, the CCG would still be needed.

"That's all I wanted to talk to you about. Perhaps we will meet again." I said.

With that, I turned and flew off, not bothering to listen to him. There were more important things to worry about right now. I spotted Kaneki and Yomo running in the direction of Kasahara Elementary. They'd be fine getting there without me, so I continued flying ahead of them.

When I got to the bridge, it looked like all signs of an ongoing fight were gone. I landed before going under the bridge to see if anyone was there. The first thing I noticed were the two discarded suitcases, as well as the sickly-looking investigator that was dead at Touka's feet.

So that's why I didn't hear anything. It's over. I spotted Hinami a little bit further and sighed in relief. At least she was alright.

"Wearing gloves like these… do you hate touching us that much?" Touka said, ripping off the guy's glove.

I ignored the gasp that came from her, instead focusing on another person who was leaning against a pillar, clutching her side in pain.

"You alright, Mika?"

She took deep breaths before speaking. "That dove got me good. I don't think I'll be able to move from this spot for a while. I took a lot of damage."

"Let me see." I said.

When she shifted her hand to show me the wound, I winced. She wasn't joking when she said she took a lot of damage. That was a pretty big chunk of flesh taken out of her body. I wanted to go murder the guy who did this, but he was already dead. Calming myself down, I assessed Mika's situation. She wasn't healing. She probably would in a bit, but for the moment her healing capabilities were probably spent from fighting against the investigator. We needed to do something to manage the wound.

"We don't have time to wait for you to heal. Hinami, can I borrow your jacket? I need to bind the wound."

Hinami was about to give me her jacket when I interrupted her.

"Actually, scratch that. You'll be cold without your jacket."

There was another option to help with healing the wound. I wouldn't really like it that much, but it was for the best. I pulled down the sleeve on my shirt so that the part of my body above my collarbone was exposed.

"Mika, take a bite."

"But—"  
"Do it. We can't wait for you heal and Hinami would be cold without the jacket. Now take a bite."

"Sora, are you sure about this—"

"Absolutely. Unlike you, I haven't done that much fighting, so I'll heal up pretty soon. Besides, I can't have you dying on me now, can I?"

She relented and took a bite. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. A few seconds later, the bite wound healed up.

Mika swallowed. After a few moments, her wound closed up, my flesh helping her to speed up the process.

"Can you stand?" I asked.

Mika shook her head. I guess she was still a little weak from that fight. I wonder why though. She's been able to handle Sosei before and Sosei is one hell of a ghoul. Did that investigator have something up his sleeve that no one saw coming? Doesn't matter right now, I guess. What matters is that we get everyone out of here.

Yomo and Kaneki appeared a few minutes later. I was relieved to see that Kaneki doing better now. Yomo must have gotten him some food so he could calm down.

"Are you ok?" Kaneki asked.

Touka responded. "I'm alright. More importantly… Oh, let's hurry up and get the body."

"No. Someone might come here any moment. We don't have enough time to get the body." Yomo said.

"But—"

"It can't be helped. Let's go."

"O-okay."

Well, at least that much hasn't changed about Kaneki. I managed to get Mika on my back only to see Touka still not moving. Looking at the dead investigator, I noticed a gold ring on his left hand. My throat constricted for a second as I realized exactly what was bothering Touka. I forced myself to move on. She would have to contend with her own demons. Kaneki eventually got her moving.

* * *

While we were walking, Hinami spoke up. None of us expected the question she asked just then.

"Is it okay if I live?"

Please tell me Hinami isn't contemplating suicide. Before any of us could say anything though, Kaneki spoke up.

"Hinami-chan. At that time, I think your mother was saying 'live.'"

From where I was standing (behind Kaneki), I couldn't really see Hinami's reaction, but I guess from how she stopped asking that she agreed. At the very least, she would keep living on, if only for the sake of her mother. Maybe she would even find another purpose for living. That'd be nice. It'd be even better once she started smiling again.

For the moment, we were left to our own thoughts. Although mine were more with the girl on my back. Once we were safely away from the danger zone, realization clicked in. I had almost lost her tonight. That was a scary thought. Much as might not like admitting it, Mika was important to me. I wasn't sure what I would do without her around.

As we continued walking, Touka started slumping a bit. Probably exhausted from fighting that investigator. Oh yeah, she's has an ukaku. Low stamina and all that good stuff. She might collapse soon if she doesn't get some support.

"Touka-chan, should I lend you my shoulder?"

Ehh? Kaneki? Making moves? Do my eyes deceive me? Now is not the time to be getting brownie points with a girl, buddy.

"Huh? I don't need your help."

"Oh come on."

"I said I don't need it!"

Kaneki insisted either way and got her to lean on his shoulder for support. "There we go."

"…You don't make any sense."

Man, this is a whole different level of new. First Kaneki taunts someone, which he's never done before. And now he's trying to make moves? On a girl that doesn't want any help? And people say I'm crazy.

Well, Touka looked like was about to collapse, so I guess that makes some sense. Always nice to have a shoulder to lean on. I heard a slight giggling from the girl on my back.

"I know what you're thinking Mika."

"Oh come on. Don't be a buzzkill. You know they would be great for each other."

"No, I don't know if they would be."

"Well, they would."

"What are you two talking about?"

Both of our heads snapped up at the same time to see Kaneki's inquisitive glance.

"Nothing important." I said. ("Yes it is." "Mika, do you actually want them to know what we were talking about?" "Well, no, but it is important." "That's debatable.")

I think that's enough about whether or not those two make a cute couple. We're almost home.

* * *

When we got home, the first thing I did was check on Mika's condition, even though it really wasn't that bad after she took a bite out of me.

"Phew. At least we made it out of that alive." Mika said.

"You almost died." I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I'm still alive." She said.

"Scared me half to death, you know. What was I going to do without you bugging me every day?"

"Me? Bugging you? Clearly you have been poorly educated. ("I'm an MIT student, Mika." "I know.") I am not bugging you. I am providing beneficial distraction."

Ah, there's the classic Mika sass that's been lacking for the last week or so. Man I've missed it so much. Kind of.

"How is it beneficial?"

"I keep you from being a complete recluse. Oh don't give me that look. You looked like you hated interacting with people in general that first day you came into the classroom."

"Did I really look that much like a recluse?"

"Yes, yes you do."

I sighed. Can't argue with that, I guess. "Welp, I'm in the mood for sleep now."

"Actually…do you think you could take me for a flight?"

"Huh?"

"I've always wanted to see what flying's like."

I frowned. "Have you never gone flying in a plane?"

Mika shook her head. "I've been in Japan my entire life."

I sighed. "One of these days, we're going to have to change that. Let's go out."

I don't know what it was that made me say that. I was perfectly fine with just going to sleep. Guess I'm not that tired yet.

The two of us went out again after we had gotten a bit more meat to eat from the fridge. Once we went out, I motioned to Mika.

"Hold on."

After Mika had a firm hold on my waist (It kind of looked like we were hugging), I took off. It was a bit trickier to take off with someone holding onto me, but I managed to pull it off. For one, I couldn't crouch like I usually did to get an initial launch. I've done some flying with heavy weights before, but I never did it with an actual person before.

That aside, I still managed to get the launch into the air that I wanted. After I had settled into a stable glide, I took a look at Mika's face. I can only describe the smile I saw on her face as pure joy. I smiled as well.

I found a tall building to land on. Once I landed, both of us sat down on the edge of the roof, just watching the city progress through the night.

"You know, despite everything that's happened, it's nice to see that the city is still pretty quiet." Mika said.

I tilted my head in thought. "I guess that's both a good and bad thing. Good because there's some semblance of normalcy that we can go to, bad because it means that people have yet to open their eyes to our problem."

Mika leaned her head on my shoulder. "Yeah, you're right. But at least we can enjoy it still, can't we?"

"I guess."

"Say, Sora?"

"Yeah, Mi-mmph?"

I'll admit, I did not expect Mika to lock her lips onto mine like that. The moment it ended, she turned away, somewhat embarrassed. I think my face was red also. But I wasn't about to reject her. Not now, not ever.

"Mika?"

The moment she turned her head my direction, I made the first move, locking my lips onto hers. We held the kiss for a few seconds before releasing.

"So I guess that means we're a couple now?" I asked.

"Noo, clearly we're just a pair of hormonally-driven teenagers that just want to kiss someone because we're of that age."

Oh yeah, there's the sass.

"Well, want to go home now?"

"Sure."

After a quick glide back home, the two of us fell asleep in each other's arms, for once not caring about personal space and all that stuff, which was funny because I had just ordered another bed for Mika.

Guess I need to return the bed later.

* * *

**Well that's a wrap for this chapter.**

**At first, I considered saving the whole couple thing for the next chapter or so, but then I decided not to. **

**Next chapter Nishiki's finally going to make an appearance again (I hope. I have no idea what my typing is going to do). As for the whole gourmet arc, I may actually do something different. Instead of Sora and Mika getting involved in it, the two of them are going to be going somewhere else completely. Sora isn't do that much in this arc minus a little involvement with Nishiki. And his first step into madness (spooky). So yeah, stay tuned for that. **

**Also, for the oh so kind review from anonymous guest "MMM"**

**I appreciate the points you made and I have made the changes suggested. It's just that, if you really want to get your points across, try to be constructive instead of trying to get the message across in such a blunt, immature way. I take that form of criticism well, others, not so much. Other than that, thank you for the review. Although I would have preferred it if you had stuck to reviewing the content of the story and not the summary.**

**On another note, we shall be making another step in the medical field.**

**FOR SCIENCE!**

**Yeah I think I'm going insane.**


	13. Steps to Madness

**Sometimes I wonder whether or not I rush things too fast. Especially when it comes to couples.**

* * *

When I woke up this morning, I was somewhat surprised to see Mika on top of me. Only somewhat though. My memory picked itself up a few moments later. Judging by how the sunlight was hitting the room, Mika and I had slept into the afternoon. Was this a cause for concern? Yep. Did I care? Not really. I mean, Mika and I had it somewhat rough last night. Considering everything that happened the night before, I was content with just staying in bed with Mika (don't you even dare think those thoughts). Mika stirred a few moments later.

"Sleep well?" I asked.

Mika took some time to push her blue highlight out of her face before she mumbled.

"You're really comfy."

I had a small laugh. "Well, at least I'm good for something that's not related to academics or research."

"I don't know if you being comfy is a good thing. I really don't want to move from this position."

"You know, we still need to go to work today."

Mika reached out to grab her phone, separating herself from me in the process. I'll admit, I was somewhat relieved and disappointed at the same time. Relieved because I could start moving again, disappointed because it was so comfortable.

"Good news. We don't have to work today. The manager is giving us a break."

"Oh. That's nice. So what do you want to do?"

Mika shifted a bit to look at me. "More sleep?" She asked hopefully.

I shook my head. "As great as that idea is, I think we need to get up. Sleeping all the time isn't healthy. Besides, I want to go check up on our meat samples."

"Sure."

Mika and I went to go check up on our project of synthesized meat. I have to say, I liked the progress that we made on it. While it would probably take another few days to get a decent-size piece of meat, the biggest relief about this project was the fact that while growing the meat was slow to start with, the process itself was actually an exponential growth, as the meat got bigger and bigger, the amount that would actually get grown would increase as well.

"How many plates did you make of the optimal growth rate?" Mika asked.

"I made about ten. We can take one out and test its taste if you want."

"Are you sure? You don't care about preserving the project?"

"Worse comes to worse there will still be nine samples that we can observe if we need to. Besides, we already have optimal growth rate. We still need to figure out how growing it this way affects the taste."

"Eh, sure."

After that, I took out one of the samples, which had grown to about the size of a small cracker, and cut it in half down the middle. After that, Mika and I both took a bite of it.

"Did yours taste rather bland?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "Yep. So the meat has a lack of flavor to it. Which I guess isn't surprising. There's no blood or any extra thing that changes its flavor."

"Any good ideas on how to deal with that?"

I shook my head. "None at the moment."

After we finished up, Mika and I decided that it would be a nice time to take a walk outside.

We spent the rest of the night out on a date.

* * *

The next day was, for a lack of better words, not so great.

During Asian History class, Hide and Ken decided to talk a bit about the rabbit case. Suffice to say, I was rather intimidated by Hide's skill as a detective. I mean, I figured out he was smarter than he looked the first day we met, but I didn't realize how smart he was until just now.

I was sitting next to Kaneki, minding my own thoughts when Hide just spoke up.

"They definitely have a grudge."

"Eh?"

"Idiot… didn't you see the news? A ghoul investigator was killed! Since it's such an exceptional case, even Ogura is making TV appearances. Ghoul specials have been all over TV after 10pm."

Oh god please no. Not Ogura. The guy's a moron.

"And…what's this about a grudge?" Kaneki asked.

"I took a guess about the criminal in my own way."

"Look, another investigator was killed ten days ago right? Why would a ghoul normally face so much danger and specifically go after an investigator? Seems like there was no intention to eat him, so it had to be revenge for something. But the one clear lead is that investigator from the main office. That Mado guy. Don't you think?"

Great. Way for him to home in on the important information. If he hadn't agreed to keep quiet about Anteiku, I would probably be really worried.

"Hey Hide," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Let's talk about this some other time. Maybe over some coffee." 'Where no one else can listen in on our conversation' was implied, but I didn't say it out loud. Avoiding suspicion was key.

Hide looked at me curiously for a moment before nodding.

"Sure."

"By the way, Hide, why are you making such inferences?" Kaneki asked.

"Well, this was super interesting!" Hide said, pulling out something. I didn't bother to look, instead I just focused on taking more notes for Asian History.

"What's that?" Kaneki asked.

"It's Ogura's new book of ghoul dismantling. It's the most supreme guide for studying ghoul psychology and biology from different angles."

My cheeks puffed up as I barely contained a laugh. Some air must have escaped though, seeing as Hide turned towards me.

"What's so funny, Sora?"

I had to calm down before a few seconds. "Oh, nothing much. Just that you actually believe the junk that Ogura sells."

"There's no way that something this refined can be junk—"

I cut him off. "Hide, it's junk. Trust me."

* * *

The three of us were in a rather secluded part of the campus, where we could talk in peace.

"So what was the conclusion that you came to about the 'Rabbit' ghoul?" I asked.

"I still can't believe you called Ogura's work 'junk.'"

"Hide, it is junk."

"It's so detailed though. How can something this detailed be junk?"

"Hide, I'm a ghoul majoring in biology that researches ghoul physiology. Ogura's just a guy that gathers scraps of information and tries to piece it together. I can safely say that what he says is almost all trash."

"Almost?"

"He's right about the tongue structure of a ghoul. But that's it. Now, what was the conclusion that you came to?"

"Are you aware of the case of the daughter ghoul?" Hide asked.

I nodded. "What about it?"

"I think that the 'Rabbit' ghoul is acting as an agent of revenge for the 'daughter' ghoul. That provides the most logical information."

I raised my eyebrow. "Not bad." Nice investigation skills, buddy. I'm glad you're not part of the CCG.

"Do you two know anything about the case?" Hide asked.

Kaneki and I looked at each other before I continued. "'Rabbit' acting as an agent of revenge is partially correct. Not completely though. The 'rabbit' ghoul took action without talking to the 'daughter' ghoul about it. The first investigator death ten days ago was a case of revenge. The second one, not so much."

"How do you know?" Hide asked.

"Because I was there when it happened. No, I'm not the 'rabbit' ghoul." I said, in regards to Hide's questioning glance, "I just happened to be at the place in question when it happened."

I could go on and tell Hide that Touka is the 'rabbit' ghoul, but for the moment I wanted to protect her ambiguity. Besides, even though Hide wasn't going to tell the CCG about us, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't report one of us who killed simply for the sake of revenge.

"So what about the second case?" Hide asked.

"The second case was significantly different. The reason that second investigator died was because the 'rabbit' ghoul was protecting the 'daughter' ghoul from him."

"You know who they are, don't you?"

I nodded. "I'm not telling you though. I'd rather they remain as anonymous as possible."

Hide nodded. "Alright. I understand."

* * *

After we split up, Kaneki and I went over to Anteiku. I received a text message from Mika on the way there. Mika had gone on ahead of me, which was why she wasn't here at the moment.

Thanks to the text message, I knew what was coming the moment we stepped into Anteiku. Which was why I decided to let poor, unsuspecting Kaneki walk into the coffee shop first. As the door opened, a couple of ghouls gathered around Kaneki and started talking to him.

"Yo, Eyepatch-kun! Did you really drive away a dove?"

"Eh?"

"That's amazing!"

"Eh?"

"This guy saw it while he was looking for prey," one of the guys said, pointing to this rather big guy who was missing a tooth. I recognized him as a regular customer. "You just knocked him down in a one-on-one battle."

"You're pretty good despite your appearance."

"You're amazing."

"Err…"

"You should go kick all of their asses like that!"

I'll admit, I was having a pretty good laugh. At least until the ghouls in question saw me.

"You! Phantom!"

Is that my new title in ghoul society? The hell?

"Why did you stop Eyepatch from killing that investigator? Are you a dove lover?"

"You're terrible!"

I sighed. "Just shut up."

"Don't you dare talk back to us. I saw what you did there, keeping Eyepatch from killing the dove."

"He didn't want to kill him. I just eased the process of not killing him."

"You should have let him! That's one less dove that we would have to deal with!"

"Do you guys want to take this outside?" I asked, bringing out my kakugan, looking ready to murder them.

That shut them up quickly enough.

I sighed as I put on my uniform, with Mika waiting for me. "You know, for a really peaceful ward, we have some rather stupid ghouls."

"Hey, at least you actually shut them up. I couldn't get them to stop chattering on about what a great guy Kaneki was for beating down the dove."

"He literally took one bite of the guy's shoulder and broke his quinque. How is that considered a beatdown?"

"Rumors fly around pretty quickly. They also get exaggerated to pretty big proportions."

"I'm just happy that none of them are really bothered with the murder of that other investigator."

"They've got a new celebrity in town. Of course they're not going to talk about the dead guy. Granted, it could be worse."

"What could be worse than talking about the dead guy?" I wondered.

"Well, rumors could fly that the newly christened 'Phantom' ghoul is going out with the 'Rose' ghoul. We wouldn't be getting any rest if people knew about that." Mika said, walking into the room.

"Wait why? Embarrassing as that is, wouldn't it die out pretty quickly?"

"You have no idea how many guys I've turned down."

"Hold on a second, how many people have asked you out?"

Mika thought for a moment. "Hmm, from the time that I first came to the 20th Ward to now? I think about seventy guys from Kamii and thirty guys outside. Including ghouls. Some of them asked again even after I told them that I had a boyfriend."

"When was this?"

"Last week."

"Wait… we weren't dating last week."

"I lied to them. Besides, I was going to make my move sooner or later."

"So you were pretty much ready to make your claim on Sora." A voice said from the door, making both of us jump.

"Enji, what are you doing here?"

"We kind of need Sora for today's blend."

Oh yeah, that. Today's a completely new one. "Please don't tell anyone what you heard just now."

"Sorry, pretty much the entire staff knows now. Minus Touka. But that's only because she has a break today."

Well… shit. So much for keeping that a secret.

* * *

The next day Mika and I were at home after classes when I got a text message from Kaneki.

"Hey Mika, do you know where Touka lives?"

"Yeah, why?" Mika asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Kaneki's there right now, and he just messaged me asking for a couple of enzyme pills. Apparently Touka's dead-set on eating her friend's food. Do you think you could deliver them?"

"Wait a second. Kaneki is in Touka's home right now?" Mika asked, her eyes widening as her suspicions were put to ease.

"Yep. I know what you're thinking. My answer is still no."

"But they would!"

"Hinami's staying at Touka's home, remember?"

"Oh yeah, right." Yeah… would be pretty awkward for them to start making out/doing things that couples do in front of a child like Hinami (Wait a second. She's thirteen years old. What am I saying?). Hinami's essentially the chaperone right now.

After a few moments of gathering her stuff, Mika went to take the pills over to Touka's place.

During the time she left, I started working on the Rc suppressants I had received from Andy weeks back. After I had finished dissecting the formula for the suppressants, I went to go grab some pill bottles to make more enzyme pills. While they weren't perfect yet, I could at least keep them around for when I needed them. As I opened the drawer where I kept the pills, my eyes widened as I realized that the container was full. Going down a few drawers, I saw that a few of the placebos were missing. I had made them earlier to test different methods of insertion. They didn't actually do anything.

When Mika got back, I confronted her.

"Mika, did you grab the placebo pills by accident?"

"Nope. On purpose." She said, with a bright smile on her face.

"Just makes sure you— what?"

"Hey, Touka had it coming. No one shoots my boyfriend and gets away with it." Mika said.

Apparently Mika has a thing for getting revenge on people. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I guess it's good this time around, seeing as the reason she did it wasn't bad per se.

I have to wonder. How did I get such a wonderful girlfriend? Granted, she has her little moments that make me want to bang my head into the wall, but other than that she's perfect.

* * *

Next day at Anteiku, before we got to work, Touka, Ken, Mika and I all went down to the underground for a bit of training while Enji and Kaya manned the stations.

"Have you been training?" Touka asked Ken.

"Yeah. Recently I've been running at night. Moving my body around actually feels pretty good."

"Hmph." Touka said, before prepping her fist and ramming it right into Kaneki.

Suffice to say, it left him rather breathless. Was that really necessary?

"Cute couple?" I whispered to Mika.

"I stand by my statement."

"You're crazy."

"You should add more muscle. The surviving doves will also be refining their countermeasures. From now on they're going to be even more dangerous." Touka said.

Guess that's true. One investigator dies, the rest start buffing up their strategies and stuff like that.

"I also have to get stronger. You'll be fine, since you have Rize's kagune." Touka continued on, speaking to Kaneki."

"That's true… but I'd rather avoid relying on the kagune if possible. I think that I shouldn't use a power that I can't control. The current me can't use this power appropriately to help people. I can only stupidly use it for breaking things and hurting others. That would be regretful when I only want to help others every time."

Well, it's nice to see that he identified his own weakness. Only question is, what's he going to do about it?

Touka seemed to have the same thought. "What do you mean? Next time you're just going to fight barehanded?"

"I'll use a style like the one you use to fight, Touka-chan!"

"That sounds like a terrible idea." I said.

"I have to agree with Sora here. That idea sounds pretty bad." Mika said.

"What? Why?"

"Because you're not an acrobat." I said.

Touka nodded. "If you want to fight even somewhat like me, you're going to have to be able to do something like a backflip."

"A backflip?!"

"Here, let me show you how."

A few moments later, Touka proceeded to pull Kaneki across her back.

"You know, I don't think that's how you learn to do a backflip. Pretty sure there's actually a process to it." I said.

"How would you know?" Mika asked.

"…personal experience."

"What happened?"

"Andy."

"Oh, that makes sense."

As Mika and I continued to watch the show unfold, I heard a pair of footsteps coming from one of the tunnels. While my hearing may not be as good as Hinami's, it's strong enough to perceive things more clearly than most ghouls.

"Do-don't let go of my hands…uwah…"

"Shut up."

A few seconds later, I saw Yomo walking in with a bag in his hand.

"Oh, Yomo-san. Hello there."

"What are you guys playing?"

"It's training. For backflips."

I'm pretty sure my expression mirrored Yomo's at that moment. Yeah, you don't learn to do backflips by doing that. Why do I get the feeling that Touka is a sadist deep down?

"Ken."

"Y-yes? What is it?" Kaneki said as Touka unceremoniously dropped him ("My bad." Yeah right Touka).

"Your dodging has more or less improved, but everything else is still bad. Stand up. Try hitting me for a while."

Oh boy. This should be fun. Where's the popcorn when you need it? Wait a second, I left my pills on home. Crap.

"I'm sorry!" Kaneki said as he prepared his first punch. I think he doesn't realize how outclassed he is by Yomo. Welp, time to sit back and enjoy the show.

Yomo dodged his first punch. "If you miss, quickly throw another one."

"Use your legs too." He continued on as he ducked to dodge the second punch.

"He'll never make it like that." Touka said.

"Nope." I agreed.

"Not a chance." Mika said.

As Yomo blocked Kaneki's kick, he flipped him over and sent him to the ground. "That's no good. You're not using the hips and your blows are too light. Touka, you join in as well."

"I don't think that's going to make a difference." Mika whispered in my ear.

"How nostalgic. It's been a while since I last trained with you, Yomo-san. Is it okay if both of us try to hit you together?"

Yomo didn't reply to them verbally. His face did take on an irritated look. Touka translated it. "That look is saying 'it's fine so come on already.' Stand up. We're going for an all-out attack."

That sounds like a bad idea Touka. A very bad idea.

I was proven right only a few seconds later. Touka charged in first while Kaneki followed right behind. Touka took a swipe at Yomo, which was dodged. Kaneki was about to follow up with a backhand to Yomo's face. He managed to execute the move, but Yomo blocked it. That was where all hell broke loose, so to speak.

After she missed the swipe, Touka spun around to pull off a kick. Suffice to say, I don't think she was aiming for Kaneki's head. As Kaneki's body flew away courtesy of Touka's kick, Yomo nailed Touka with a backhand to the head before he spoke.

"Touka, if you've been training, then drive it deeper down into your foundation. Also, don't eat unnecessary things. It slows your movements too much."

"I would've been fine with that food if Mika had given me the right pills, you know." Touka said.

Mika batted her eyes innocently at Touka (The entire scene was shocking. I have never seen Mika bat her eyes before). "What are you talking about? I just made a mistake, right?"

"You promised revenge that night you came to my place. There's no way that giving us the wrong pills was a coincidence."

"Even so, human food takes time to digest. Our bodies don't process human food as efficiently as they do human meat. Ghoul enzymes process meat really quickly. So you would still be stuck with that slow response time." I pointed.

Touka grumbled, but shut up.

Yomo turned to me and Mika. "How about you two? Are you going to try?"

I got up. I didn't think that we'd be able to land a hit on Yomo, but at least we could take a shot. "I guess we could give it a try. Is that alright, Mika?"

Mika got up as well. "Well, it shouldn't be that bad."

"You want high or low?" I asked.

"You're the guy with the ukaku. You get the high."

"Fair point." And like that we were off.

Mika went in first, going low in order to sweep up Yomo's legs. The moment Yomo jumped to avoid it, I jumped in for a kick on him. Reluctant as I was to admit it, Andy's training had really improved my physical performance. I would never say it where he could me though. As Yomo leaned back to avoid my roundhouse, I used the momentum of the kick to bring my other leg around and bring it down on top of him. Yomo managed to block the kick, but the impact sent him flying into my desired direction: Mika's foot.

During the time that Yomo was focused on me, Mika had proceeded to readjust her position so that she was right under Yomo, launching her foot at his backside. Suffice to say, it worked. At least until after the kick I ended up landing on top Mika in a tangle of limbs.

After we untangled ourselves, Yomo got up. "Not bad. You two did well to combo your attacks so that there was no room for me to reply."

Mika scratched the back of her head. "That was actually the first time we pulled that off effectively."

I still remember the first time we tried that trick without someone to use as a target. Mika and I ended up in a tangle of arms and legs as well, but we also ended up kicking/punching each other by accident. It was embarrassing. It was one of the tricks that we were working on as a team. I figured it worked out well for us. We were already a team at work, might as well be one outside of work as well.

* * *

We had a bit of a creepy visitor come to Anteiku. I wasn't actually at the station at the time, as I was taking a break. I was about to get off break when Mika texted me to stay upstairs for a couple more minutes. I would've asked her why, but I decided not to, instead just waiting for her answer.

A few minutes later, Mika came into the break room, irritation written all over her face.

"So what was that about?" I asked.

Mika shook her head to clear it. "Tsukiyama came to Anteiku today."

"Tsukiyama?"

"A creep. And the ghoul known as the Gourmet." Mika said.

Wait, I remember reading about that ghoul title on the CCG board. And he was on the news the other day, the guy responsible for plucking out… Karube? Was that her name? Yeah, he was the guy responsible for plucking out her eyes.

"So he's the Gourmet."

"Yep."

"So why did you tell me not to go downstairs?"

"He likes to taste gourmet food, unique flavors, all that good stuff. And I can tell you right now that you would be one of the unique flavors that he would want to eat."

"How would you know?"

"I took a bite out of you, dummy. Of course that's how I know." Mika said.

Oh yeah. That night where I had the huge panic attack over whether or not Mika would survive.

"So pretty much just avoid Tsukiyama when possible?" I asked.

Mika nodded. "Yep. Pretty much."

I think I can manage that. "By the way, next time you go hunting, can you save the tongues?"

"Why?"

"Research."

* * *

The next day after class we didn't have work. Normally I'd be at home doing some more projects, but today I felt like exploring the other wards. I ended up finding myself in the 14th Ward when I wasn't paying attention. This should be interesting. Apparently cannibalism is a trend in this ward. I don't know what I'll be doing.

The sounds of a scuffle caught my attention and I turned to find a small beatdown going on beneath an overpass. Three guys beating down on another guy.

Normally, I'd tell them to lay it off and be on my way, but I ran into Kaneki as I was walking towards them.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Oh, Sora. I just got lost on my way back." He said.

"Right. So what's going on here? Besides this being a beatdown and all?"

"That's Nishio-senpai…"

What? I took another look at the fight to confirm that it was indeed Nishiki getting beat up by the other ghouls.

"We're stopping them." I said.

"Eh? Why?"

"He may not be your friend, but he's technically mine."

Kaneki walked over to them before they could tear off an arm. "Umm, don't you think you're going too far?"

"K-kaneki…" Nishiki's voice could still be heard.

"Eh? Are you shithead Nishiki's friend?" One of the ghouls asked.

Kaneki shook his head. "No, but he is." He said, pointing at me.

"Well this is a surprise. He's has always taken on the air of a conceited lone wolf."

Well, he's not wrong about that.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't beat up my friend, you know." I said.

"What's up with your eyes?" One of the ghouls asked.

So they're beating up my friend and all they care about is my eye? Crazy people. "None of your concern."

"Alright, fine then. Which ward are you from?"

Kaneki answered before I could tell him not to. "The 20th Ward."

Idiot.

The ghouls started laughing. "Bwahaha the 20th Ward. Weaklings. Let me tell you what's going on here. What we're doing is a trend here called cannibalism. So I'd advise that you and your friend leave."

Looking back on this moment, I think something inside me snapped. I don't know what it was, but I can guess at the cause of it.

I was always the loner at school. Elementary school, middle school, high school, MIT. I never made friends, due in great part to the fact that I was almost always younger than everyone else around me. Running for class office at that time didn't help. I was alright with the speeches, but I didn't interact with anyone per se. No one knew me. That's why I lost. And I was alright with it. It was a fun experience. But it also emphasized how lonely I was as a person.

When I came to Tokyo, interactions became more frequent for me. At first, I was uncomfortable with it, but it came along more naturally after a while. Hide, Kaneki, Mika, and Nishiki made up the very first group of friends that I ever really had outside my family.

Losing them was unbearable to me. I think that the idea that I might lose even one of them began a long road down through madness that I never intended to take. I'm just glad I had people to help me through it at the end.

For the moment though, the guys in front of me did not know what they had awakened. My voice took on a very dangerous tone. "Really now? How about instead of eating him, you can have a shot at me. All you have to do is leave Nishiki alone."

"Umm, Sora? Are you sure about this?" Kaneki asked.

"Just take Nishiki home. I doubt that they'd let us otherwise." I said.

The ghouls looked thoughtfully at us. "Hmm, why not? You certainly smell more delicious. Sure, take Nishiki home."

Kaneki moved to grab Nishiki and looked at me. "Will you be alright?"

My voice felt somewhat distant. "Oh yeah, definitely."

The moment Kaneki left, the ghouls turned to me. "So, what do you want to do now, dinner?"

My mouth shifted into an insane grin as my kakugan came into existence, shining much brighter than it usually did. "You know, I'm feeling rather hungry right now. How about you help me with that?"

"W-what?"

After that, everything became a blur.

* * *

**Phew! This chapter took me a while, but I finally got it done. I had a bit of writer's block for a couple of days so I wasn't sure what I wanted to write. At the very least, I made good on at least part of what I said in my last A/N, so that's nice. Something doesn't feel right about this chapter though. A lot of things don't feel right.**

**EDIT: I just realized at one point I said Tsukiyama plucked out Karube's eyebrows. Made the change so it's accurate.**


	14. Meet the Parents

**So yeah, the madness begins**

* * *

Somehow I managed to make it home. As I got into the house, I heard talking.

"Wait, Kaneki, don't worry. He's here now. Yeah, it's alright now. Alright, see you later."

With that, Mika hung up her phone. As she hung up her phone, I plopped down onto the couch, exhausted from what happened earlier.

"What happened to you earlier? Kaneki called me earlier, said that you had gotten Nishiki away from some ghouls that were trying to eat him. Nishiki's alright, but what about you? Something's troubling you."

"…"

"Sora, I've never seen you make that face before. The closest face to that that I've ever seen you make was the one you made when you heard that Ryouko-san died. And it wasn't even remotely close. What happened?"

"…I snapped."

"You what? You lost your temper?"

I shook my head, starting to recall what happened. "I don't know… I just… something happened to me. It was like there was another side to me that woke up. I don't even know how. It just did. And I… I…"

Mika put her hand on my shoulder. "Sora, what happened?"

"…They're dead."

"Who?"

"The ghouls that hurt Nishiki. They're dead. I killed them."

I faintly remembered how it happened. After I intimidated them with my eye, my rinkaku kagune sprouted out of my back, making quick work of them while I stood there and grinned like a madman. That wasn't the worst part though.

"There's more to this, isn't there?" Mika asked, eyes filled with concern.

I nodded slowly. "I ate them. I consumed their kakuhou after I killed them. And you were right, you know. Cannibalism does make a ghoul stronger. But it comes at a terrible price."

"What price?"

"Your sanity."

"What happened to you to make you do that?"

"You mean why did I snap?"

Mika nodded.

"They were going to eat Nishiki."

Mika's eyes widened.

"It was madness Mika. It was like there was this other person inside of me that just broke loose and took over." My voice. "And it scares me, what he might do… what _I_ might do."

Mika embraced me after a moment. "You'll be fine. You have us to help you out. I'll be here for you, no matter what. After all, that's what we do, don't we? Look after each other."

My body relaxed a few moments later under Mika's embrace. "Yeah… you're right." I said, with a small smile.

"C'mon, let's go to bed. You look exhausted."

"Wait a moment." I said. I pulled out a bag with three tongues in it. "Let me get these to the freezer."

"Tongues? When did you get these?" Mika asked.

"After I came back to my senses." I said.

"So let me get this straight. You go insane for the first time in your life, kill a couple of ghouls, and then cannibalize them. And somehow, you managed to keep yourself from eating their tongues and remembered to keep them for your research?"

"Pretty much."

"You still need the human tongues, right?"

"Yep. No rush though."

"You are easily the strangest boyfriend out there."

* * *

The next day when I woke up, Mika was reading something from right next to me. From the looks of it, I guess it was a letter. Not a good one though, as this one seemed to have Mika in a frown.

"What's that?" I asked.

Mika put away the letter before answering. "My parents just sent in a message. Apparently there's a situation going on back home in Osaka."

"Any idea what it is?"

Mika shook her head. "They weren't very specific about it. They do want me back in Osaka for a couple of days though, so I'll be leaving for a couple of days. I've already messaged the manager about leaving for a couple of days."

"I guess I can spend a couple of days without a lab partner."

"Actually, about that…" Mika began.

"What?"

"My parents want to meet you."

"Umm… why?"

"To quote their letter, 'to meet the guy that you're staying with.'"

"Well, I can't exactly ignore summons from my girlfriend's parents, can I?"

"Probably not."

"Welp," I said, getting out of bed, "Time to pack for my funeral."

"Wait, what?"

I turned to her. "You don't know about this? And I'm the recluse?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on. It's the meeting that all boyfriends fear. The meeting with the rest of the family."

"Are boyfriends really that scared of this?"

"Apparently, yes. Andy tells me about them all the time."

"Does he get around a lot?"

"Nah, he hears these stories from his friends."

"Oh, ok. But trust me on this, it won't be that bad. My family will love you!"

Yeah, I think I'm going to die.

* * *

"Alright! We're here!" Mika exclaimed.

We took the bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka. It was quite the rush. It's one thing being on a plane and knowing that you're travelling hundreds of miles per hour, it's another thing actually seeing it happen right in front of you. Mika and I got a couple of people to take notes for us in our classes, so that was out of the way.

When we got out of the station, the first thing I noticed was that Mika didn't stop to look for a car. She just walked on through the city, eventually stopping in front of a house.

"Well, ready to meet my family?"

"I guess I am."

The only person I've met in Mika's family so far is her brother Seiichi. And that went alright for us, I guess. I mean, Seiichi was somewhat weird with the whole 'I approve' thing, but overall he's a decent guy. I don't know if I'll be able to say the same for the rest of Mika's family. Like I said, my funeral.

Mika knocked on the door. A few moments later, a woman opened the door, sporting the exact same blue highlight that Mika had on the front of her face. (What the heck… was it genetic?)

"Mika! You got our letter. Good, come in, come in. Oh, and you come in as well." She said, waving for me to come in.

I tentatively stepped into the house. So far, so good. At least I'm not dead. I noticed Mika's family talking to her. Which was a pretty small family, actually. It was composed only of her father, mother, and her brother. Which was actually a bit of a surprise. Usually, ghouls had lost a family member at some point or another in their lives. Seeing Mika with this many family members still was definitely a surprise for me.

Her family stopped talking with her the moment they saw me.

"Mika, would you like to introduce your friend?" A man that I assume was her father asked.

Mika nodded. "Otou-san, Okaa-san, this is Sora Chao. My boyfriend."

Her parents stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. Seiichi, on the other hand, seemed to have this smug look on his face that said "I knew it."

"Mika, are you playing a prank on us?" Her mother asked. "Every single boy that has asked you out has been rejected. Is this some elaborate ploy from you to mess around with us?"

You know what, I take back what I said about this being my funeral.

"No mom, I'm being completely serious. Sora is actually my boyfriend." Mika said.

Her parents continued to stare, so I spoke up. "You know, she's not joking."

That finally got them moving.

Mika's father extended his hand. "You have no idea how many times Mika has rejected a guy that's asked her out. I'm Kazuki Shiraishi. Pleasure to meet you. This is my wife, Hinata."

"She actually told me a bit about it. And technically, she asked me." I said, shaking his hand.

"Did she now? Was this before or after you started dating?" He asked.

I thought for a moment. "We started dating around four days ago, and she told me about all the guys she rejected in Tokyo the next day, so I would say after we started dating."

Seiichi interrupted our conversation. "Otou-san, I did tell you that Aneki was living at Sora's place, right?"

…I'm dead. I'm so dead. There's no way I'm getting out of this alive.

Kazuki looked at me in interest. "Oh yeah, that's right. How did that happen?"

I explained slowly, not sure what to expect. "Mika said her apartment lease expired, so she decided to stay at my place indefinitely. I live in a condo, so all I have to pay are the electricity and water bills."

"Well, it's nice to see that Mika found a place so soon. She's resourceful that way." He said.

"Wait a second, you're not going to murder me?" I asked.

He looked at me, somewhat confused. "No, why would I?"

Because I'm dating your daughter and literally the scariest thing a boyfriend can face is his girlfriend's father. And the very idea that some guy might possibly be defiling your pure and precious princess of a daughter is absolutely unthinkable. Hell, the punishment for even thinking about defiling your daughter is probably death through a very painful torture method of some kind. Maybe getting impaled by your kagune, if it's the same kind as Mika's. Those extending thorns have so much potential for damage.

I boiled all those thoughts down to a much simpler explanation. "I thought fathers were really protective of their daughters."

Mika's father looked at me for a few seconds before turning to Mika. "You know what, Mika? I think you found a keeper. Maybe all those rejections were actually for a good reason. This guy knows his boundaries."

You know what? I think I can worry about my funeral later. Maybe around fifty, sixty years later. Seventy if I'm lucky and I can somehow hit ninety years of age.

* * *

"So, Sora-kun, what do you right now?" Kazuki asked.

We were eating some meat at the table. Like most ghoul homes, they kitchen was mostly unused. That would probably change in the near future, once mass production was a reality for my pills.

"I'm a foreign exchange student at Kamii University. That's how I met your daughter." I said.

"Oh? A foreign exchange student?" He asked. "What school were you at before the foreign exchange program started?"

"MIT. I'm actually the top of my class." I said.

Normally, I hated bragging, as it usually brought unwanted attention to myself, but I wanted to get good points with Mika's parents. And talking about how good I was academically usually assured parents that their daughter would be in good hands. Emphasis on the word 'usually.' It doesn't always work.

Thankfully enough, it seemed to work well this time. "I see. So what are you majoring in?" Kazuki asked.

This is starting to feel more and more like an interrogation. "I'm majoring in biology with a minor in East Asian Languages. I'm also getting my research degree once I finish this term and go back to MIT."

"Already? But you're the same age as Mika, aren't you?" He asked.

"Otou-san, Sora actually started going to MIT when he was fifteen years old." Mika said.

Everyone at the table besides myself and Mika had their eyes wide open when they heard this.

"That's… really impressive. You really do focus on your academics." Mika's mother commented.

I shrugged. "Somewhat. I just find the material rather easy."

"So let me get this straight. Not only are you a one-eyed ghoul with a passion for research, you're also a top student with a supercomputer for a brain?" Seiichi asked.

Last time I checked, eyes didn't open up that wide.

"A one-eyed ghoul." Hinata said, with complete disbelief in her face.

"Seiichi, are you pulling a prank on us right now?" Kazuki asked, looking hard at his son.

I shook my head. "He's not joking. I'm actually a one-eyed ghoul." I said, showing them my kakugan.

The parents stared. "How? I could think of the theoretical situation where it would work, but how did this happen?"

I shrugged. "Lots of weird stuff happened."

"Including getting a kakuhou getting transplanted into you because the doctor couldn't tell the difference between a kakuhou and a kidney." Mika said.

"Say what? How did that happen?" Seiichi asked.

I sighed. "Long story short? I almost got killed by a ghoul, the ghoul died. I almost died. A doctor did an organ transplant and put some kakuhou from the dead ghoul into me. I lived."

"That is probably briefest version of an interesting story that I have ever heard." Kazuki said.

I nodded. "The long version takes a while."

"Still though, how did you get to adjusting so quickly? I can't imagine a former human like you wanted to start eating your own kind?" Seiichi asked.

"Well…"

"Does it have something to do with your mismatched eyes?" Kazuki asked.

"Say what?"

"Your right eye. It's not very noticeable, but the red in your pupil contains qualities more akin to a kakugan than a regular human eye."

"How do you—"

"I'm an optometrist. I've served enough humans and ghouls to know the difference in the pupil between a regular human eye and a kakugan."

"Red's not a common eye color among humans." I pointed out.

"Albinos have red eyes. They're rare but they actually exist. Your eye on the other hand has a deepness to it that is only found in the pupil of a kakugan. To everyone else, your eye looks regular because they don't know any different. I just happen to know because of all my years spent as an optometrist."

Wow. I didn't even know that. "Well, I guess my eye has something to do with it. Even before the organ transplant, I was already part ghoul. This eye is a result of that heritage."

"Half-ghoul?"

I shook my head. "1/16th."

"What?" Seiichi asked. "How's that possible?"

I shrugged. "One of my great-great-grandfathers was a ghoul. I think you can guess what happened from there."

Before they could continue asking questions, Mika interrupted them. "Otou-san, you said in your letter that there was a situation going on. What happened?"

You could literally feel the atmosphere drop when Mika asked that question.

"There's a new ghoul organization that's starting up here. They've been threatening ghouls to join them or die. I heard about it from one of my clients who managed to escape. Apparently they're called Aogiri."

"How big is this organization?" I asked.

"Right now they have around fifty people in their group. It's somewhat small, but the numbers could start increasing pretty quickly. They've been actively killing the CCG in this area, looking to, as they put it, 'liberate Osaka from the CCG' and establish ghoul supremacy in the region."

That is easily one of the dumbest reasons I have ever seen for a ghoul group being formed. If they eliminate the CCG presence in Osaka, they would invoke the wrath of the main CCG office. They would start a ghoul purge for their stupid goals.

"So what do you want me here for?" Mika asked.

"We're forming a group to force them to disband. I was hoping you could help us." He said.

Mika didn't even hesitate. "Otou-san, you don't even need to ask. I'll do it."

"I guess you could use my help as well, Kazuki-san." I said.

As much as I would have preferred a regular family visit (as regular as a ghoul family can be) over fighting a ghoul group, I'm not going to let Mika go into this alone. And besides, what the ghoul group is doing is the exact opposite of what I want. Anyone who goes around declaring war needs to be put down.

Kazuki looked relieved. "That's great. We'll need one more day for me to gather some more people and then we'll be ready to go confront them."

Welp, better get some more fighting practice in. I could really use it.

Mika and I were currently in her room, just sitting on a couch cuddled together. It was a pretty simple room. Desk, bed, and a couch. No decorations or anything fancy like that. Except for a framed letter of admission into Kamii University. I guess that was a crowning achievement.

* * *

"You're thinking about something." Mika said.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" I said with a small smile.

"Nope. Not a chance. Now spill." She said.

"Something is bothering me about Aogiri. Why would they cause chaos here?" I wondered.

"Probably to make a statement about ghoul dominance in Osaka." Mika said.

"It doesn't add up though." I said. "The CCG influence here isn't that great, is it?"

Mika nodded. "It's really weak compared to Tokyo. Ghoul attacks are also a lot less rampant here."

"Which means that it's probably on the same level of strength as the CCG headquarters in the United States, which is pretty weak." I said. "If a ghoul gang wanted to make a statement about ghoul dominance, they would have to pick a different place where the CCG presence is much stronger, like Tokyo. Destroying the CCG here wouldn't do as much to make a statement. Hell, it'd probably just end up with the ghoul group in question getting destroyed. Unless… it's a diversion."

"For a bigger plan?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "If they eliminate the CCG here, a response team will have to be sent from a stronger location to deal with the threat, probably Tokyo, seeing as they have tons of investigators to spare. They'll probably send a healthy amount of investigators to Osaka. If that's the case, it'll weaken the CCG's presence in Tokyo and make it easier for a group there to spread their influence."

"So what you're saying is…"

"Aogiri is quite possibly based in Tokyo. And it's mobilizing the ghouls here as bait so that they can strain the CCG's strength in Tokyo. It's only a possibility though. But if said possibility is true,"

"Then eliminating Aogiri here just became a much more important mission than we first thought." Mika finished.

"Pretty much."

We sat on the couch for a few more minutes before Mika decided to change the subject. "Meeting my family wasn't quite what you envisioned, was it?"

I shook my head. "I honestly thought they were going to do something like castrate me and hang me over a bridge until I died from hunger."

"That's… a rather gruesome outlook on things."

I readjusted my position to make it more comfortable for Mika before I continued. "Eh, when you get your organs ripped out by a ghoul, and then have them replaced by kakuhou, everything else seems sort of mellow in comparison."

"Try having an entire chunk of your side being ripped away by a quinque."

"Alright, besides that. I almost freaked out when I saw that wound."

"I'll admit, that was the first time I ever took an injury that big. I'll try to avoid that in the future."

"Speaking of the injury, how did it happen?" I asked.

"I took a hit for Hinami."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all you can say? Your girlfriend almost dies and all you can say is 'oh'?"

"What was I supposed to say?"

"Something along the lines of how noble I was in taking that hit for Hinami."

"Hey, you said it yourself when you said I was a recluse. I barely know how to interact with people outside my family."

"Speaking of family, what's yours like? You never really talk about them."

I thought for a moment. "Well, my mom and dad are both huge fans of Kingdom Hearts. That's how I got my name. Mom's a scary person when she's mad, but she can be the sweetest person out there as well. She's also a bit of a computer expert. Dad is a bit sterner, but he's also really nice when it comes to meeting people. It's probably why he does so well as a real estate agent. By the way, my mom is where I get my ghoul gene from."

"How did your dad react when he found out?" Mika asked.

"Honestly? My dad was a bit freaked out. But he was really tolerant of the whole thing. Mom spent a good few months talking with him about how ghouls might not be as bad as society put them out to be before she revealed her ghoul heritage. He still freaked out when he met the rest of the family."

"Any siblings?" Mika asked.

"Nope. Closest thing I had were cousins on the ghoul side of my family. We keep in touch, even have family gatherings every once in a while. I'd make coffee for them because my mom wanted me to learn to make it for them."

"What are they like?" Mika asked.

I thought for a moment. "Andy's probably the closest out of all of my cousins. We actually used to play together as little kids, even develop our own secret code. Nowadays, he's actually a bit of an exercise nut. I was the complete opposite before the transplant."

"So he trained you?"

"Yep. It hurt. A lot."

"What about your other cousins?" Mika asked.

"Well, Richie is a music aficionado. He loves heavy metal in particular, but he also has this thing for classical. Who knew?" I said, in response to Mika's giggle.

"That has to be one of the funniest mixes in music taste."

"Agreed. My last cousin, Lily, is still a little child, only two years old. But she is literally the sweetest little girl out there. She still tries to tackle me with hugs every time she sees me."

"Aww, that's so cute. I really want to meet your family." Mika said.

I chuckled. "How about you get a plane ticket with me back to Massachusetts when I go back after this term?"

"You mean it?" She asked, her eyes suddenly bright.

"Absolutely." I loved seeing her eyes light up like that.

"You know, I can see why you two started dating." A voice said from Mika's door.

Both of us looked up to see Mika's mother, Hinata, smiling at us.

"Okaa-san, how long have you been there?" Mika asked.

"Hmm, about since Sora-kun started talking about his family. It was quite the conversation. But that aside, the two of you should get some sleep now."

"…Alright, kaa-san."

After she left, Mika and I continued talking. "Out of curiosity, who do you get your kagune from?"

"I get my kagune from okaa-san, while Seiichi gets it from otou-san."

"So pretty much a classic 'like parent like child' situation?"

"Yep."

"Did you grow up in Osaka?"

Mika nodded. "Otou-san is actually the leader of the ghouls in Osaka. He's kind of like Yoshimura in that he manages the area."

"So you never had a chance to go out and explore before you got into Kamii?"

"I had a bit of a chance to explore Osaka. I could probably give you a good layout of the entire city if I wanted."

"When we have more time, you're going to have to show me around."

"It's a deal. How about tomorrow?"

"Why tomorrow?"

"Well, otou-san is still gathering people to help, and he said it was going to take one more day, so we could spend that time exploring some parts of Osaka. How's that?"

I smiled. "Sounds like a date to me."

"Then it's settled. We'll be going on a date tomorrow." Mika said.

"So let's get this straight. We're going on a date tomorrow and the day after we'll be fighting some ghoul gang in order to keep chaos from running rampant through all of Japan?"

"Pretty much."

"And you say I'm the crazy person in the relationship."

"Clearly, you don't understand. Going on a date is an easy way to relieve stress. And if you're not as stressed, it's easier to get things done."

"I guess I can't argue with that."

We sat there for a few more moments before I felt a yawn building up. Eventually, I had to let it out, and Mika followed up with a yawn as well.

We didn't even bother with going to the bed to sleep. The couch was just too comfortable.

* * *

**So yeah, shit's probably going to go down next chapter.**

**This is my first time trying to move the setting of the story to a different place. I have no idea how this is going to work out.**

**Also, fun way to incorporate Aogiri. After all, it's not like they were quiet until after the Gourmet Arc happened. I just felt that just having a completely separate story and then going back to main storyline was somewhat pointless. **


	15. Travelling Around Osaka

**I am easily the craziest person I know for going on with a story despite feeling like it's a bad thing to go on. My writing quality is deteriorating.**

* * *

You know, sometimes dates happen the way they should, nice and flowing, without any bumps in the date. Other times, well, a lot of times, shit goes down while you're on the date. I mean, we're ghouls. I should have figured that when ghouls go on dates, there's a pretty good chance that something's going to happen that wasn't originally planned. And no, I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about the very possible chance that some guy is going to try and murder you, whether it be an investigator or another ghoul. This time it was another ghoul. What a rude guy.

Mika and I did have a smaller date of sorts the day after all the crazy stuff happened with the investigators and Hinami, but I'm pretty sure that was the only regular one we had for a while. Things rushed by pretty quickly these few months.

But that aside, we were on our date in Osaka right now. And as already mentioned, shit was going to go down.

At the very least, we had a few good hours of going around Osaka before all hell broke loose.

* * *

The date actually started out with sightseeing. First place we went to was Osaka Castle, which was a nice walk. It was pretty neat seeing the older Japanese architecture in the middle of all the more modern buildings. Sure, it's a replica of the original, but that doesn't really take away from the value. Thankfully enough, nothing really crazy happened there besides Mika almost making me fall on my face by accident. What happened right afterwards almost sucked for us. Emphasis on the word 'almost'.

After we left the area, we ended up walking aimlessly for a bit as we tried to figure out where else we could go. Well, Mika tried to figure out places we could go. I was just the tourist.

"So, where to next?" I asked.

"Well, I do have a couple of ideas in mind, but it takes some time to get from place to place."

I shrugged. "We could just take a taxi, you know."

"Eh, fair enough."

Mika hailed a taxi and we both got in.

"The aquarium, please."

"Sure."

As we started driving, my nose suddenly picked up on the smell of blood inside the taxi. And it wasn't the driver's blood. It was someone else's. I took a quick glance at the driver's name. Karao Saeki.

"You know, you don't really do a good job of hiding the fact that you're a murder. Or a ghoul." I added after seeing him start to pull out his kagune. "Don't worry, I'm not going to bother reporting you. After all, I'm one as well."

He relaxed himself. "Thanks. I appreciate it. If you don't mind me asking, why do you smell a lot like a human?"

"Sorry, I mind." I said.

"Oh, alright."

Once we got to the entrance of the aquarium, Mika spoke up. "That was awfully nice of you."

I shrugged. "I'd rather not mess up a regular date just for something that a ghoul does regularly. It's not like we're killing too frequently, after all."

"That's fair."

"So… an aquarium?" I asked.

"Yep! One of the biggest attractions here in Osaka. So what do you think?" Mika said.

Eh, why not? "It's been a while since I've been to an aquarium. The only one I've been to was in Boston."

"Really? What was that one like?" Mika asked.

"Honestly? It was kind of weird. They had an anaconda there."

"What? What was an anaconda doing in an aquarium? I thought they weren't aquatic animals."

"Apparently, they are. They live by rivers, streams and lakes."

"Huh. Didn't know that. The aquarium here doesn't have anacondas."

"Oh well. So, are we going in?"

"Sure."

The aquarium was rather fun. There was even a whale shark there. Why couldn't we have whale sharks back in the New England aquarium? Oh right, they're Pacific Ocean animals.

Other than that, I could see why it was considered one of the best aquariums in the world. It literally shows stuff from around the world. Why can't we have aquariums like that back in the state? Sure we have some variety, but nothing like this.

My nose twitched as we passed by a restaurant. Glancing over, I saw the people there eating stuff like takoyaki and ikayaki.

"You know, I've always wanted to try those dishes. But I've never really had the opportunity." Mika commented.

"I'd probably want to try them as well. But we'll have to wait until a time when it's more convenient. Maybe when we have more time on our hands and things are more convenient." I said.

We left the aquarium after that. As we walked, Mika started talking. "Did you not bring your pills today?"

I shrugged. "It's not that. It's just… I haven't figured out how to incorporate taste into the pills yet. And unless we can actually taste the food, eating it is pretty much pointless."

"Do you have any ideas?"

"I have a couple ideas. One of which might possibly work if I'm right."

"Why even bother having the other ideas then if you don't think that they'll work?"

"I like keeping my options open."

"And keeping your options open for methods that have a really low chance of working is a good idea?"

"Hey, I can always hope."

"This from a guy who does analysis on a level so deep that they would make every single person in the biology research labs downright jealous?"

"Touché."

"So what was your idea that you thought was going to work?"

"It involved Rc suppressants and tongues."

"That is easily the strangest combination that I have ever heard of."

"Give me a break. It's a possibility I can't ignore."

"So why haven't you proceeded with this plan yet?"

"I still need the human tongues."

"You know, I've already told you this before, but you are the strangest boyfriend out there."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when we started walking around as aimlessly as a couple could. We visited a couple more places, but none of them really had any importance. There was a creepy clown head that freaked me out though over at the Ame-mura area ("Sora, it's just a clown head." "Clowns are intimidating. And why was that one on top of a clothing store?"). While we were walking, we ended up finding ourselves at a rather isolated place. Literally the only other people nearby were some guys who were minding their own business. Well, they wouldn't be minding their own business for long, but I had no way of knowing that until a few minutes later.

"Well, today was fun." I said.

"I really wish we had more time, but we have to go deal with that situation. Maybe we can do this another time."

"First things first, I'd have to take you around Boston."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Well, what do we have here? A couple going on a regular date? How sweet."

Both of us turned to see the guys minding their business walking over towards us, with near-murderous intent in their eyes.

I didn't bother hiding my disdain for them in my voice. "What do you want?"

The guy at the front who appeared to be their group leader grinned. "Well, I was wondering if the two of you would accept an offer that our… organization is giving out exclusively in Osaka."

Mika raised an eyebrow. "And that offer is?"

"Well, it's a rather simple offer. Join our organization and you can murder all the doves you want, my fellow ghouls."

"And if we don't?"

"You die."

"That's… rather underwhelming, honestly. Kill a couple of doves or die? You clearly don't know how to do business with others." I said.

One of the guys behind the leader snarled. "Listen here punk. You can either join us or we can kill you. You're not getting out of this either way."

Mika moved her body behind mine. I understood. To the ghouls in front of us, it would look like Mika was scared and decided to hide behind her gallant knight. To us though, it was a strategy of sorts. The two of us did work really well as a team for a reason.

"I really doubt that you're going to be that much of a threat to me. Or my girlfriend." I said.

"Look pal, your girlfriend's hiding behind you, all scared. If you don't want her to get hurt, the both of you will oblige with us this very instant and join our organization. I don't care if you join as troops or slaves, you join regardless."

"Or you could just leave." I said, pulling out both of my kagune.

"You think that's going to intimidate us?" The lead ghoul asked. "We've all trained with our own kagune as well."

All of the ghouls pulled out their kagune, two koukaku, one bikaku, and a rinkaku. Which would be rather intimidating if Mika and I were just regular ghouls that didn't really know how to use their kagune. Which we weren't.

"Aww, how cute. You can use your kagune. I mean, it's not like people who know how to use their kagune are extremely rare."

"SHUT IT."

"Nope. Not a chance. Why do I need to listen to someone that's about to die?"

"Look, there's no need to make empty threats. Especially when you have no way to pull it off." The leader said.

"Why would I make an empty threat?" I asked. "Actually, forget it. You'll understand what I'm talking about soon enough."

A few seconds later, Mika's rinkaku burst out of the ground at their feet, before proceeding to stab right through every single ghoul that was standing right in front us. Only the leader managed to dodge it.

"So, what were you saying about empty threats earlier?" I asked.

"FUCK YOU!"

"Watch your language, would you?"

A moment later, the leader ran off.

"So… we have a couple of dead bodies here. Any idea what we're going to do with them?" Mika asked.

I shrugged. "No clue. Maybe… bury them?"

"Right… because clearly we have shovels that we can use to dig holes."

"I'm out of ideas then. So just leave them?"

"At least let's hide them so people don't start asking questions."

"That works too."

After hiding the bodies, we were about to go on our way again when both of us picked up on a sound. Coming straight for us. At very high speeds.

Both of us managed to jump out of the way of said object in time. Which turned out to be a kagune shard. Lovely. Someone's shooting at us.

"You know, I just wanted to have a regular date like regular people have all the time. Why is this happening to us right now?" I asked.

"Probably because we're interested in adding the newly dubbed 'Phantom' ghoul and the daughter of the Osaka leader, the 'Rose' ghoul to our forces." A voice said.

Mika and I turned to the new voice, a person with bandages wrapped all around… Him? Her? Judging by the voice, I would guess that it's a 'her'.

My eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. You're here to try and convince us to join before you threaten to kill us?"

The bandaged ghoul shook her head. "Nope. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. You don't really stand a chance against me."

Mika frowned. "That's a pretty bold statement."

"Maybe." Suddenly, she was behind us. "But it's one that I can back up if I need to."

Judging from that speed that she just showed, she's not lying. "So… I'm guessing that we probably have no choice but to join you?"

The bandaged ghoul shrugged. "Depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not you can beat these guys here." She said, motioning her arm at a couple of ghouls walking in. They did look rather intimidating, but I had learned a while back that intimidating-looking guys weren't necessarily that strong. "You win, you can go. You lose, we take you for Aogiri. Sounds fair?"

Between fighting those guys and fighting the bandaged ghoul that could probably kill us in seconds? I'd definitely take those guys. We actually have a chance with them.

Mika spoke my thoughts for me. "Yeah. That sounds fair."

"Then go on ahead. They're yours." She said, walking off a short distance.

Mika and I sized up the people we would have to fight against as they pulled out their kagune. My attention instantly focused on the fact that both of the guys had bikaku kagune. And one of them had an ukaku as well. Just brilliant. Could this get any worse? Bikaku's naturally beat rinkaku, and while they're weak against ukaku, they also had a guy with an ukaku, which meant matchup-wise Mika and I were going to have it tough.

"Mika," I said, "we're taking this fight carefully."

She nodded.

Our advantage: Our teamwork, as well as our individual kagune strengths, with Mika's ability to extend thorns and my ability to fly.

Their advantage: They have a favorable matchup for them regardless of who fights who. It doesn't matter who fights who, both of them will have a significant advantage over us in that regard.

"Sora, go small."

I didn't even nod. Both of us went straight for the guy with the bikaku. While bikaku kagune were the most stable of all kagune, and thus able to withstand a clash with rinkaku, the biggest disadvantages of it was that first, ukaku were able to overwhelm the bikaku with speed, and second, only one could be produced at any given time. Whether it could split was a different matter, but one it was technically one appendage at its base. Which meant that if we could cut through that, it would force him to regrow his kagune, giving us enough time to take him down.

Before we could execute said plan on the guy that only had a bikaku, I was blocked by the guy with two kagune. I backed off, while the other guy went for Mika. I was mad at the guy for even trying to hurt Mika, but I figured she would be fine. I had to focus on my guy though.

"Oh look, you're a one-eyed ghoul! How fortunate for us." Bandaged girl chimed in.

I ignored her. I had someone that I needed to take down. His ukaku kagune seemed rather stubby. If anything, it looked kind of like a leaf, with its size only reaching about my arm in length. Nevertheless, it meant that I couldn't overwhelm him with speed like I wanted to, as he could probably follow my speed at least.

I launched my rinkaku at him, watching as he dodged to the side. While he was dodging, I launched a wave of kagune shards at him, hoping to hit him. A few of them hit, but as they hit, he changed directions, coming right for me. The moment I stopped shooting, I took a punch to the face, which sent me back a few meters.

I wiped my mouth, wincing in pain. He was fast, that much was given. My hands were somewhat tied. I couldn't just fly and get an advantage on him, as he would probably move to gang up on Mika. Just shooting him as well wouldn't do me any good, as he would move in for a hit the moment I tried. While I could probably dodge the hits, it wouldn't be convenient for me regardless.

I focused. What could I do that might be able to take out the guy? I do have an idea that could work. It worked decently well on Mika when we sparred, so I figured that I could pull it off here.

I curled in my ukaku, focusing on gathering Rc cells in them. As I gathered the cells in them, I barraged my opponent with my rinkaku, looking to try and pierce him.

The moment my ukaku was ready, I took a jump into the air, before unfurling my ukaku and raining tons of balls of kagune shards on my opponent. As he probably expected, he dodged the kagune. What he didn't expect was for each of the balls of kagune to explode, sending shards at his face. While he was busy with the shards, I sent another wave of shards down at him, effectively taking him down. As I moved in for the final blow though, I heard a scream of pain from a short distance away.

"Mika!"

Mika's opponent had hit her side with a powerful blow, almost sending her flying before his kagune came around to pierce her right through the stomach.

"No!" I screamed, trying to reach her. Before I could get to her though, I was tackled to the ground by the other ghoul.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked with a growl, pinning my head to the ground with his hand.

"It's such a shame." The bandaged ghoul said with a sing-song voice. "I guess you're not that much different from the average ghouls. What a pity. You'll be joining us now. The girl though, I believe is going to die."

Is going to die.

_Is_

_Going_

_To_

_Die._

"Don't you dare…"

"Huh, did you say something?" The guy holding me down asked.

Those were his last words.

My rinkaku tore right through his body, ripping him apart. I registered none of this though. I was only focused on the guy that was slowly killing Mika.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!"

He didn't even have time to realize that someone was even homing down on him. My kagune smashed right through his, destroying it. Next thing he knew, he was on the ground, with a shadow above him promising all sorts of glorious pain.

"W-what?"

"You know, I could just end your life right here and now." My voice came out, rather distant. "But you forfeited any chance you had at a peaceful death when you hurt her. So now, we'll be killing you in a very slow and painful process."

"Wait, 'we'?"

"Trash like you don't need to know anything. But first let's start with your arms."

Arms went flying off as my kagune cut through him. His screams sounded beautiful. I wonder if they'll sound just as good when I cut off his legs?

"Oh, did you like that? Well then, how about we go onto the next part? The legs?"

Another slice, more screams. Oh look, I was right!

"Aww, you loved that, didn't you? But of course! Next up are your organs. I'm going to take them out of you. Trust me, it'll be nice and slow so you can see it happen. You know how slow it's going to be? I'm going to take them out,"

A kidney flew out.

"**One,**"

A liver came out as well.

"**By,**"

Intestines were next.

"**One.**"

I ripped out his kakuhou and consumed it. Right in front of him. Disgusting? Yes. But he deserved that.

Oh his screams were downright heavenly. I don't think I could have had any more fun.

"Aww, it hurts, doesn't it? Don't worry, we're only going to go through a couple more bouts of this before we're done. By then I'm pretty sure that you'll be dead. Very much dead."

"Sora." A weak voice could be heard.

I stopped where I was, coming back to my senses. Mika. She was dying. I had to help her.

I ran over to her as quickly as I could, cradling her in my arms. I didn't even bother offering her my shoulder. I just ripped out a chunk of it, only wincing slightly from the pain, before feeding it to her.

"Hang in there Mika!"

A few moments later, her stomach wound started healing. Moments after, it was completely healed. I didn't even sigh in relief like I would normally. I just held her tight, relieved that she was alright. I'll be honest, I almost started crying.

Her voice was weak when it came out next. "You know, crying doesn't really suit you."

I almost laughed. "Give me a break, I almost lost you."

"You're still the strangest boyfriend."

"Well this is cute." Both of our heads turned to see the bandaged ghoul from earlier standing there.

"What do you want?" I asked, kagune raised threateningly.

The ghoul shrugged. "Nothing much. You lived, they died. So you're free to go. But I must say, that was quite the performance. I never expected you to be that brutal."

I winced. "I'm not happy about it."

"You know, I'm still extending that offer. How would you like to join Aogiri? Your brutality would be well fitted there."

I shook my head. "Not a chance. I'd rather never have to go deal with that again."

"Well, it was worth a shot. But I must say, I didn't expect you to triumph over the two strongest men in Aogiri."

"You don't sound really concerned about it." I noted.

The ghoul shrugged. "I have my reasons."

"Is it because this isn't actually your base of operations and you just want to make things easier over in Tokyo where you're actually located?" I asked.

She started. "How did you find out?"

"You told me just now." I said. "But it was mostly a guess that I had when I first heard about your group causing a ruckus over here. Something simply didn't make sense about it."

"Not bad. Tell you what, if you ever feel like joining Aogiri, come to the 11th Ward. My name's Eto, by the way. I'll see you later, Sora-kun, Mika-kun."

With that, she disappeared.

"Did she just call us 'kun'?" Mika asked.

"Apparently." I said, still bewildered. Why would I ever want to join Aogiri? Crazy people.

"You know, we should probably be going home now, but I feel like I'm in no position to move." Mika commented.

I sighed before picking her up, bridal style.

Mika's face went bright red. "What are you doing?"

"Unless you can adjust yourself so you don't fall off my back, we're doing this for now.

Mika sighed in defeat. "Fine. But how are we going to get back without raising any eyebrows?"

"Try to hold on." I said, ukaku kagune spreading wide.

"Oh. That's convenient. Nothing like wings when you need them."

"Yep."

I launched myself into the air.

* * *

"What happened?" Seiichi asked.

Of course that would be the first question that would be asked of us the moment we got back to Mika's house.

I gave them the short version. "Aogiri attacked. We fought them. Both of us got hurt, Mika was exhausted after fight. Now can I get Mika to the bed?"

I probably would have given them a longer explanation, but Mika's safety came first. I could worry about other stuff later. Granted, she was safe now, but I wanted her to be comfortable. She had to have been exhausted after that fight, and falling asleep while we were flying couldn't have been the best experience for her. You would have to be completely exhausted in order to have to fall asleep while I was flying.

Once I got Mika to her bed, I went back out to give the rest of her family a more detailed explanation.

"While we were walking around, we were attacked by some members of Aogiri. We managed to beat them off, but then more people came along. They were only going to let us escape if we fought two of them and won."

"So what happened during the fight?" Kazuki asked.

"During the fight…" My hand clenched into a fist. "One of the guys almost killed Mika."

They stared at me, shocked, so I continued.

"He pierced her stomach with his kagune, and I lost control. I killed them."

Kazuki put his hand on my shoulder. "You did what you had to. If you hadn't, Mika would have been dead."

"Speaking of which, how did she survive?" Seiichi asked, his anger toward the guys that hurt his sister barely hidden.

"I fed her a chunk of my shoulder." I said. "It helped her heal."

They remained silent after that, taking in the information. I continued talking. "By the way, the two ghouls that I killed were the strongest among this branch of Aogiri, so things should be easier for tomorrow's operation."

"This branch of Aogiri?" Seiichi asked.

"Aogiri's actually based in Tokyo. They started up an organization here as well in order to distract the CCG. In other words, this branch is a sacrificial pawn meant to give them a better position on the board. I figured it out when I fought with them."

"They would sacrifice their own for something so trivial. How despicable." Kazuki said. "I appreciate what you've done for us so far. If you don't mind, I would like you to not participate in tomorrow's operation. I just want you to watch over Mika. She's in no condition to be fighting tomorrow."

I don't think I would have been in a good mindset to fight after what happened tonight, so I think not helping would be warranted.

I excused myself and went upstairs to Mika's room to find her mother sitting on the bed by her sleeping form.

"She looks so peaceful right now. It's hard to imagine that she almost died a few hours ago." She said.

I nodded slowly. "What happened back there still scares me."

"You mean when you lost control?" She asked.

I nodded slowly. "It's like a different me comes out every time I lose control. A more sadistic version of me. The guy that hurt Mika would have died an even more painful death had Mika not called out my name. It brought me back to my senses."

"Sometimes, all it takes is someone that we love deeply to keep us from falling into madness." Hinata said. "You should get some rest as well. You look downright exhausted from what happened today."

"That's weird. I don't really feel t… tired…"

A few seconds later, I found myself falling asleep on the couch.

* * *

**And scene. I ended three chapters in a row with falling asleep. What the hell is wrong with me? Oh wait, I already know the answer to that. EVERYTHING.**

**So yeah, that happened.**

**Also: I put out a new fanfic today that's essentially a bunch of sidestories to Reaching Out. So yeah, go check that out in your spare time. I'm still experimenting with different ways to write. **


	16. Returning to Regular Somewhat

**Alright, maybe I'm being a bit too harsh on myself in regards to how bad my writing is.**

* * *

I felt someone poking my head. Which was somewhat irritating. I wanted to sleep.

Normally, I'm a light sleeper. This mainly has to do with one fact: I hate sleep.

If not for the fact that the human body (ghoul also) was required to sleep, I would be up all day and night trying to get as much work in as I possibly could. For me to want sleep would mean that I was completely exhausted beyond all reason. Or that Mika fell asleep on top of me. Which didn't make sense, seeing as I fell asleep on the couch. And last I remembered, Mika was sleeping on her bed. Last I remembered of course not necessarily at the moment. Wait a second, there's a weight on my chest.

As the poking continued, I forced myself to open my eyes. Mika was just lying there, poking at my head.

"You know, I thought I'd be sleeping longer than you, but you were sleeping like a rock for a few hours even after I woke up."

I frowned. "Did I really? I didn't think that I was that exhausted."

"Yep, you were that exhausted. It's already the afternoon."

"And I still want to sleep. Clearly something is very wrong with me right now."

"You mean something wasn't wrong before?" Mika teased.

"Oh shut it, Mika. How are you anyways?"

"Honestly? I still feel a bit weak after yesterday."

"About that…" I said.

Mika frowned. "You're still concerned about what happened with the other you, aren't you?"

I nodded. "I mean, the guy got what was coming to him, but for me to go that far out of revenge isn't like me at all. I would have gone ever farther too, had you not called out my name."

Mika's smile almost turned sad. "I think I was more scared than you were. I really thought I was going to lose an important part of you. I don't want to lose that. I want you to stay the way you are."

"Even though I'm probably going to change in the future?" I asked.

Mika hesitated. "That's the thing though. Changing in the future, it's not certain. You might become a better person in the future, you might become worse. Gradual change is nice. On the other hand, a major change like that in such a short time is scary."

"Not as scary as losing you." I said defensively.

"I almost thought I lost you though…" Mika said. "You weren't dying, but it was like the old, gentle you was disappearing and the new, cruel you was taking over."

I thought about it for a moment. "I guess either way it's one of us losing the other. And that's not something I think either of us want."

"Yeah…" Her voice trailed off into silence.

We sat there in silence for a while until my stomach decided that it wanted to make a statement of sorts. It almost seemed to make a mewling sound.

That set us off. Before we knew it, we were laughing like idiot, unable to stop ourselves from falling on the floor in laughter.

"Of all the ways to break the silence, it had to be your stomach." Mika laughed, tears streaming down her face in mirth.

"Well, I can't exactly do anything about it if I'm hungry." I said.

"True enough. Want to go out to get something?" She asked.

I thought for a moment. "Any good places where we won't get threatened?"

"Well, otou-san is about finished with Aogiri, so the worst we'll probably have to deal with are average thugs." Mika said.

"I think I can manage average thugs." I said.

"Well, get dressed then!" Mika exclaimed, pushing me over. "I'm not going on a date with a guy that's still wearing clothes that smell like blood."

Oh yeah, my clothes still have some bloodstains on them from yesterday. Let's change that.

* * *

The next morning, Mika and I packed and went back to Tokyo.

The day before had been pretty straightforward, with the only thing of real significance being Mika's father coming back and telling us that the operation to get rid of Aogiri's presence in Osaka was finished. Mika and I went out to get some food after I got changed into some clothes that didn't smell like blood. Funnily enough, we ran into some average thugs. A couple kicks from Mika to their groins pretty much ended anything they were going to plan. Afterwards, we went to a convenience store where we bought some food to eat later (thankfully, I brought my enzyme pills with me to Osaka). ("Do humans actually eat stuff like this?" "Yep. Welcome to eating food like smoked sausage and frozen pizza." "They seem so… weird." "This from the girl who wants to try seafood?" "Eh, fair enough, I guess.").

After enjoying our small meal thanks to my enzyme pills, Mika and I started to pack. As we finished packing, I decided to leave the rest of my enzyme pills at the Shiraishi house so they could try out human food every once in a while. After all, I'm almost ready to go on to the next stage of pill testing. If my hypothesis is correct, then tasting human food as a ghoul will become a reality.

Either way, once we got back home, the both of us decided to just leave everything inside for later and go to Anteiku. After all, we were at Osaka for a couple weeks. It would be nice to visit everyone after we got back.

Once we opened the door to the shop, I instantly picked up on another conversation going on (Deep down, I was wondering if my bad habit of eavesdropping was coming back again). Touka, Ken, and Hide were talking at the counter.

"What the hell… did you report it?" Touka asked.

Ken was quick to reply. "Nah, I didn't do anything like that, since I was able to get back my student ID."

"You should have reported it. That way you can prevent him from doing it again."

"What happened?" I asked.

The three of them turned to see me and Mika at the door.

"Oh, when did you two get back?" Touka asked.

"Just this morning." Mika replied. "We went home first before coming here. But that aside, what happened?"

"Do you want the one night ago version or the last few days version?" Touka asked dryly.

"Let's just stick with the one night ago version." I said. Man, what happened to put Touka in that kind of mood? Wait a second, this is almost regular for her.

"Well, Kaneki here was dumb and got his wallet stolen by a pickpocket." Touka said, jabbing her thumb at said victim.

I drilled Kaneki with a stare. "And you didn't report him why?"

He shrugged. "There really wasn't that much in my wallet. Just some yen, my student ID, and my license."

"You know, Kaneki, you should present yourself more sternly." A new, familiar voice said. "That way, poor bastards like that guy wouldn't target you."

Mika and I both spun on our heels to see Nishiki. In a worker's uniform. Nishiki was working at Anteiku. Our voices sounded at the exact same time. "Touka, Ken, explain now."

Kaneki simply scratched the back of his head while Touka looked someone green. I'm guessing this wasn't her idea to begin with. Nishiki was actually the one to answer.

"Heh, surprised to see me?" He asked.

"Understatement of the day. I never thought I would see you working as a waiter at Anteiku. Especially because I remember you loving your blondy instant coffee above any other drink." I said.

Nishiki shrugged. "Some things happened involving one of the ghouls in the ward. After those events, I figured it would be best to join Anteiku."

That… really didn't explain that much. But I guess I can always ask later.

Hide appeared to have his own questions though. "Come to think of it, Nishio-senpai, why are you here at Anteiku? Wait, could it be that you're aiming for Touka-chan?"

If cheeks were elastic, I'm pretty sure that mine would be the size of balloons right now.

Nishiki looked offended at the question. "Who would want such a simple-minded woman?"

"Huh?"

I turned to Mika. She was also holding in her laughter. A few seconds later, she let out a heavy breath. "Whew. Never knew it could be that hard to hold in my laughter."

"Speaking of dating people, you know Mika and Sora are dating, right?"

"Hard to miss it when it's all I hear about when I get back to the school. Who would have known? The Mistress of Rejections finally said yes to someone. And that someone happens to be the newest student to grace the classrooms."

That caught our attention very quickly.

"What? How do they know?" Mika asked, utterly shocked.

I racked my brains for possibilities. There's no way that anyone would have known just by looking at us when we were in school. As far as they were concerned, we were simply friends. The only people outside of ourselves who knew were Mika's family and the staff at Anteiku, which included Enji, Kaya, Yoshimura, Touka… and Kaneki. Who happened to be the only one that went to Kamii.

I focused a glare on Kaneki. "What did you do?"

Any barricade that he might have had to hide his little secrets melted at my glare. "Umm, Hide was wondering why both of you were gone from school. I mentioned that you were helping Mika with something in Osaka. He asked why you were helping her. I may have mentioned that you two were dating right then and he yelled it out loud. Everyone in the classroom heard it. Personally, I'm not surprised. He did ask Mika out before."

Hide was scratching the back of his head rather nervously. It stopped the moment he felt what the rest of us felt: A dangerously murderous aura that was coming from right next to me.

Mika focused on Hide. "Hide, you have five seconds to get on your knees and apologize or else I'll make you my next meal."

He was down on his knees in less than two seconds, apologizing profusely to the both of us. Talk about breaking records.

That aside, I just remembered something. "Hey Nishiki, can we talk?"

We went up to the Anteiku break room. "What did you want to talk about?" Nishiki asked.

"I could use your help for what I'm doing in the future." I said.

"What are you planning to do?" Nishiki asked, somewhat suspicious.

"Decrease the need for the CCG to hunt ghouls down." I said.

"…That's impossible." Nishiki said.

I laughed. Oh he was so out of the situation. "No it's not. I've already made plans. So far, it's only small-scale plans, but given a couple months, we can probably make it a large-scale thing."

"So what do you need my help for?" He asked, confused.

"You're studying in the pharmaceutical department at Kamii. You're one of the key components that I should be able to rely on."

"Yes, but you're still dodging one important question. What exactly do you have in mind?" Nishiki asked.

I pulled out a small box that I kept my pills in. "In this box are enzyme pills. I did some research a while back into saliva and stomach acid and found that the biggest problem for ghouls is that we lack the enzymes necessary to break down human food. So I made these enzyme pills after some testing and it turns out that with these, we can actually eat human food. I even got a handle on dealing with the taste."

Nishiki was curious. "How so?"

"Tongue numbing agent."

"And you need my help how?" He asked.

"I need a way to get this into mass production. The lab at my place doesn't have enough room to produce these on a large scale. I have to handcraft every single one myself. That's where you come in to help. We need a way to produce these effectively."

Nishiki nodded understandingly. "I can help you with that. Overall, I think it's a shitty plan (…really Nishiki?), but the idea itself is good. I'll help how I can."

I nodded. "Thanks Nishiki."

* * *

As we left the break room, I saw Touka dragging Mika in our direction. As they walked by us, Touka suddenly grabbed my arm and dragged me in as well.

Nishiki looked concerned for a few seconds before shrugging and going back downstairs.

Touka had us sit down before talking to us.

"I need your guys help."

I looked at her curiously. "Is this for more schoolwork stuff?"

Touka shook her head. "Well, no. It's not."

"Then what is it?" Mika asked. "Does it have something to do with someone?"

Touka's face started turning a little red. Wait a second, her face is red. A few weeks ago I would have written off a red face as nothing but the room getting a little bit hot. But now… my mind connected the dots.

"You have a crush on someone and you want advice?" I asked.

Touka shook her head vigorously. "No! I just… want to find a gift for him…his birthday is coming up soon, I think."

"Who are we talking about?" Mika asked, worry lining her voice. Although I knew that worry had more to do with the fact that she thought Mika had a crush on someone that wasn't Kaneki.

"…Kaneki."

There was a brief silence before I asked "Why?"

"Umm, I may owe him for saving him, Nishiki, and myself." Touka said.

"But you have a crush on him?" Mika asked.

"Maybe…"

I turned to Mika and handed her five hundred yen.

Touka stared. "…wait, you were betting on us?"

"Well, somewhat. I was betting that Kaneki was going to make the first big move, Mika was betting that you would. So why do you need help finding a gift?" I asked.

Touka shifted uncomfortably under the attention. "I'm not really sure what to get the idiot."

I shrugged. "Get him a book. He's always liked those."

Touka's expression brightened a bit. "Oh, alright. I could probably do that."

I remembered something. "Just don't get him Sen Takatsuki's books."

Touka and Mika bothed looked at me. "Why?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if that guy had every single book from that author." I said. "You should have seen him the first time he had a conversation with Hinami. It turned to questions about what she liked about Sen Takatsuki's books. He even rattled off a giant list of Takatsuki's works for Hinami to practice reading."

"Wow… that's scary." Touka said. "But what do I get him then?"

I thought for a moment, before writing down a list. "Try these books."

After I handed her the list, Touka stuffed it in her pocket before going out, leaving me and Mika in the room by ourselves.

"So what books did you recommend?" Mika asked.

"A couple of English classics." I said. "They're usually fun reads, especially the ones that delve into psychology."

"Wait, how do you know this? I thought you were into the whole math/science stuff, not the English."

"Kinda have to learn this stuff to skip grades, you know." I pointed out. "It wasn't like I could just focus on one single subject in school. I had to focus on a ton of different subjects before I could get into MIT. Found some pretty good books while I was studying, too."

"Is that how you found the Brothers' Grimm?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "Yep. Classical literature at its finest. I can't tutor other students in classical literature, but I can still appreciate it."

"Figures. Speaking of gifts, why don't you ever get me anything?" Mika asked.

Oh… shit. "I may have gotten distracted with… literally every single situation that came up over the last few days. Including you almost dying, me essentially going insane, and all that other stuff. That and we've only been dating for around a week now?"

Mika sighed. "Fair enough. I guess I can let it slide this time."

As we went downstairs, the TV was on, announcing that the CCG would be sending more investigators to specific wards, which included the 11th and 20th ward.

So basically, we have more investigators coming in.

"Was the 20th Ward always this dangerous?" Hide asked.

We all stood/sat there for a few moments, taking in the news.

"Probably has something to do with the 'Rabbit' ghoul and the death of that investigator." I said.

"Really Sora? I doubt that this is solely my fault." Touka said.

"Wait, Touka-chan, you're the 'rabbit' ghoul?" Hide asked.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Umm, yeah?" Touka said.

"So that's why Sora didn't say anything when he was filling me in on the case."

I sighed. "Well, guess that cat's out of the bag."

"You know, Sora, I still don't understand why you let Hide in on the whole ghoul thing." Nishiki said. "I mean, he's not ratting us out, but why did you?"

"Because the idiot found out by himself. He eavesdropped on a conversation by pretending to be unconscious, no thanks to you Nishiki." I said.

"And who are you to go on accusing me?" Nishiki demanded.

"You're the guy who knocked him out in the first place and made us take care of his injuries. Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is for the rest of us?"

He didn't really have any good replies to that.

* * *

The next day at school was rather awkward for me and Mika, seeing as literally everyone in the school knew now that Mika and I were dating now. We could hear whispers literally every few minutes.

"I never thought she would say yes to someone…"

"I heard that they actually work at the same place. Maybe that's why they started dating."

"Why would she date someone like him though? His eyes freak me out. Like, major time. "

"Are you kidding me? I would love to have eyes like that. It would be so cool!"

"Still though, why him? I look way better than him."

Mika turned to guy who made that comment. Before she could do anything, I grabbed her shoulder.

"I know you want to murder him, but it's not exactly healthy to do it in public." I said.

"But he insulted you!"

"Mika, I doubt you started dating me because I 'look good'."

"You're actually pretty handsome, but no, you're right."

Whoa. WHOA. Did Mika just call me handsome?

"Say what?"

Mika turned to me. "No one's ever told you that before?"

I shrugged. "I've never bothered to listen. I mean, I was a recluse. Not a social guy."

"You're still a recluse." Mika said with a small smile, elbowing me gently.

I took her hand. "Give me a break. It's hard to make friends, alright?"

"Maybe for you."

"Oh come on, what's that supposed that mean?"

"Well, you did start college when you were only fifteen years old, mister gifted student. And when you're a fifteen year old teen in a lecture hall full of people way older than you, things probably get pretty awkward for you."

"Alright, you win."

Meanwhile, the whispers continued on.

"He's holding her hand!"

"Did you see the way she nudged him with her elbow?"

You know, if there's one thing that hasn't changed about me since I came to Japan, it's that I still hate attention.

* * *

Given all the crazy stuff that happened over the last week, a change of pace was nice.

It was a regular day. We were at work, people were ordering my special brews, Kaneki was being clumsy again, Mika and I were being our efficiency-based team, and Touka and Nishiki were shouting at each other once again.

"Ah, what do you think you're doing, you damn woman?" Nishiki asked.

"Huh? Is that anyway to speak to your senior, Shitty Nishiki?" Touka demanded.

"Huh? You? My senior? At this damn useless job? Ah, the future does look bleak indeed."

"Having a damn sickening college boy with a damn smart mouth as my junior makes me pretty discouraged as well. Why don't you just hurry up and quit?"

"Oi, you don't have the power to ask that, you damn woman."

Alright, maybe that shouting/insulting fight isn't regular. Thankfully enough, the Anteiku was rather empty of customers at the moment, so their shouting match wasn't TOO bad.

"You know, I'm surprised that the two of them haven't tried murdering each other yet." Enji said.

"Really?" I asked.

Mika chirped up. "Nishiki expects respect from people younger than him, Touka gets pissed off when people older than her think they deserve her respect just because they're older."

Right… it's nice to see Nishiki here though. Somewhat. His mouth is still a bit on the foul side, but he's changed for the better. Not as easily pissed off…

"Shitty Touka!"

Or not. Alright, maybe he doesn't instantly resort to killing or kicking people when he gets pissed off.

"Why don't you go die in a hole, Shitty Nishiki!"

I really don't get what this is all about. They're literally just shouting at each other over a broken plate. I mean, come on. It's not like plates haven't been broken before. I'm pretty sure every one of us has broken a plate at some point in our lives.

"Shitty Touka!"

"Shitty Nishiki!"

"What is with you? Are you just parroting me, Shitty Touka?"

"How dare you compare me to a bird of all things, Shitty Nishiki!"

The air suddenly darkened around us. "You guys DO know the legend of devil ape, don't you?"

Oh come on Enji, not again.

He didn't even faze them.

"Shitty Touka!"

"Shitty Nishiki!"

"There it is! That's all an idiot like you knows. Do you really think you can pass an entrance exam like that?"

"That's none of your business, Shitty Nishiki!"

"Is this going to become a regular thing here?" I whispered to Mika.

"Looks like it."

I rubbed my forehead. "This is going to be an interesting few months."

Oh hey, Kaneki's cleaning up the mess. At least someone's doing something. Unlike two particular people who technically started the mess. Wait a second, how is Kaneki surviving being that close to them fighting? I must study his technique later. Or not. I can just avoid the fight once bullets start flying.

Still though, you'd think that with that kind of a mouth, Kaneki and Touka would have a terrible time as a couple. They're not dating, but man I can't see what Kaneki sees in her. Or what Touka sees in him. They're completely different in attitude.

Oh well, opposites attract, I guess.

* * *

**FINALLY! A CHAPTER THAT DOESN'T END ON SLEEPING!**

**Other than that, not much to say.**

**As you can probably guess, Aogiri is going to come in pretty soon.**

**Until next time!**

**XWX**


	17. Discoveries and Kidnappings

**The :re chapters are full of surprises.**

**Also, you may find this chapter rather cheesy. And it probably is.**

* * *

After work, Mika went hunting while I went home to test some stuff with the Rc suppressants. Taking out one of the tongues, I waited for a few minutes for it to defrost.

During that time, I started brainstorming. If I wanted success, I needed all the possibilities. So I had to think: What are the effects of an Rc suppressant? The CCG uses it to keep their prisoners detained, through quite literally suppressing the ghoul functions, which include the ability to pull out one's kakuhou as well as reducing durability and regeneration ability. But that's in large doses. The big thing about Rc suppressants is that they essentially make the ghoul body a human body in terms of durability. The question I had was whether or not I could apply that to the tongue. If my guesses were right, then the Rc suppressants could restructure the ghoul tongue, turning it into what was essentially a human tongue.

I had to be careful with the dosage though. After all, it doesn't take that much of the liquid to render a ghoul almost helpless. Although it has to enter the bloodstream in order to take effect. And that was what this was about. Getting the right amount of Rc suppressant onto the tongue so that it restructures itself.

The door to the lab opened up while I was brainstorming.

"I got your tongues." Mika said, holding a small plastic bag with three human tongues.

"Great, place them on the table." I said.

"So what do you need them for?" Mika asked.

"I need to do comparisons between the human and ghoul tongues, find out where the key difference between the two lies."

After the tongue finally defrosted, I took out my microscope and started going every single micrometer of the tongues.

"So, anything yet-"

"Mika."

"Right. Silence. That's what you need."

Unlike the first time where I spent hours on end observing all the saliva, this observation only took about one hour to finish.

"So, any similarities?" Mika asked.

"They're tongues, but other than that there's nothing at all." I said.

"At all?" Mika looked shocked. "Shouldn't there be some sort of similarity between them of any sort?"

"That's the thing… there should be, but there isn't. It doesn't make sense. I mean, I expected the structural map of the tongue to be different, but there's something not right. There should be similarities where the human tongue and ghoul tongue both have something in common, but I'm not finding anything." I said, frowning. "Unless…" Could that be it?

"Unless what?"

"Pass me that small bottle." I said, pointing at the bottle containing some Rc suppressants.

Mika handed the bottle to me. I opened it and dropped a bit of Rc suppressant on it. I'll admit, I didn't expect the results that I saw.

"Oh what the hell."

"What?"

"Structure had nothing to do with the reason the tongues were so different. The reason they were different was because there's another layer of taste buds below the ones that ghouls have."

"Wait, what?"

I turned to Mika. "The Rc suppressants forced the taste buds on the ghoul tongue to recede. There was another bundle of taste buds underneath that almost exactly resembled the human tongue."

Mika's eyes widened at what I said. "So you mean this entire time…"

"Ghouls have always been able to taste human food. It's just that there's a bunch of other taste buds that keep us from doing so."

Mika shook her head. "Evolution really is a cruel mistress."

"Agreed. So do you want to try eating some human food now?" I asked.

Mika shook her head. "Maybe later, once you get a few pills ready and all. It is getting late after all."

I checked the clock. "Yeah, maybe it's time to sleep."

"Maybe?" Mika asked, somewhat incredulous. "You've been doing this for hours."

I stretched. "I don't really feel that tired."

"Oh come on. Just go sleep. I'm tired and you owe me for getting all the stuff you need and keeping me up."

"You know I probably would have joined you in the bed later."

"Nope, I don't! Come on, the entire staff is going to this karaoke place after we finish up classes tomorrow!"

"Wait a second, karaoke?" I asked.

Mika turned to me, a slight frown on her face. "Yeah. Is something wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Just a bit shocked. I didn't think we would be taking breaks like that."

"We do this every once in a while. We were actually going do it earlier, but we had all that crazy stuff come up." Mika said.

"Oh. So that's why I haven't been part of this tradition before." I said.

"Yeah, it's going to be a blast! What do you think?"

"Ehh, I'm not that good at singing."

"Oh come on. Neither is Touka, and she sings also."

"Something tells me that you forced her into it."

"I like the term 'aggressively convinced' better."

"Is there really a difference?"

"Maybe not."

Well, this should be interesting.

* * *

If anyone asks, I suck at singing.

Or I wish I could truthfully say that. Unfortunately, I know what I'm doing when I sing. Music was my only companion aside from research back when I was in MIT. And according to this one guy who overheard me when I was doing some studying back at MIT, it sounded really good.

I stopped singing after that. Not completely. I wasn't going to give up something that was such an important part of me. I still did it on occasion when I was alone in my study room or singing a song for my cousin Lily because she wanted it. But other than that, I stopped singing. I hated the attention. And if singing was going to attract more attention, it wasn't something I wanted to do.

Unfortunately for me, there was one condition for which I would willingly sing at a karaoke. And that condition was making Mika happy. Which was why I found myself going with the rest of the Anteiku work crew, even Yoshimura, to a karaoke bar. He did mention that he was simply there to enjoy our singing, so he won't actually be participating in it. More like just… laughing at us. Great.

Anyway, we found ourselves in one of the karaoke rooms. And I'll admit, it was nice room that we could lounge in while whoever was singing stood up on the platform. I just hoped that I wasn't first. Or should I go first? I mean, going first could be both good and bad. What should I do?

Thankfully, I didn't have to make any decisions, as Mika went first. And I have to say, she was pretty good. I've seen better (Do **not** tell her that I said that), but compared to a lot of people, Mika was pretty good. I didn't recognize the song, but that was because I didn't really know Japanese songs that well, being the classic American that I was. The song was rather quick-paced too. That was something. I guess Mika likes upbeat songs.

Kaya was the next one to go up. Compared to Mika, Kaya was a lot slower paced. I guess that reflected well with her attitude at work. Although I did hear that she and Enji used to get into tons of fights back when they were both part of ghoul gangs. Speaking of which, I could probably ask them for some help when I finally get mass production going for the enzyme pills.

I'm pretty sure that Mika wanted to try and force Touka and poor Kaneki into doing a duet, but she really wasn't that successful. Yoshimura wasn't there to sing, and I don't think Nishiki even has any singing ability. Enji might… wait, no he decided to pass. Which means… oh crap. I'm the only one left.

"Sora, you want to go up?" Mika asked.

I hesitantly shook my head. "Not really."

"Oh come on. Please? For me?" Mika begged.

I gave in.

When I got to the platform, I started scrolling through songs. I wanted to at least find a song that I would like before I started singing. Before I could finally pick something, Mika snuck up behind me and pointed to a song on the list. I looked at what she was pointing at. To my surprise, it was an English song. And one that I recognized. By My Side by David Choi.

Well, singing David Choi songs isn't going to kill me. And I liked this one in particular.

As I waited for the music to start up, I took a deep breath. Here I go.

_I'm just listening to the clocks go ticking_

_I am waiting as the time goes by_

_I think of you with every breath I take_

_I need your to feel your heartbeat next to mine_

_You're all I see in everything_

_I just wanna hold you_

_I just wanna kiss you_

_I just wanna love you all my life_

_I normally wouldn't say this but I just can't contain it_

_I want you here forever right here by my side_

When I took a pause as the music kept running, I noticed everyone staring at me, wide-eyed. I shrugged. They just found out. Might as well keep going with it. Not like I can stop now.

_All the fears you feel inside_

_And all the tears you've cried_

_They're ending right here_

_I'll heal your hardened soul_

_I'll keep you oh so close_

_Don't worry; I'll never let you go_

_You're all I need_

_You're everything_

_I just wanna hold you_

_I just wanna kiss you_

_I just wanna love you all my life_

_I normally wouldn't say this but I just can't contain it_

_I want you here forever right here by my side_

Right after I finished the chorus this time around, I looked to find Mika's eyes shining at me. That was all the encouragement I needed to keep going and finish the song.

_No one else would ever do_

_I've got a stubborn heart for you_

_Call me crazy but it's true_

_I love you_

_I didn't think that it would be you who made it clear to me_

_You're all I need_

I'll admit, this part of the song I could relate to much more than any other part of the song. Because it really was Mika who made things clear to me. All those month that went by and then finally we got to that one moment where things were made clear to the both of us.

_I just wanna hold you_

_I just wanna kiss you_

_I just wanna love you all my life_

_I normally wouldn't say this but I just can't contain it_

_I want you here forever right here by my side_

As the song closed out, I could hear everyone clapping while Mika walked onto the platform and embraced me.

I guess there are worse ways for people to find out that I actually know how to sing.

"Why didn't you tell us that you could sing before?" Mika asked on the way home.

I shrugged. "It wasn't really something that I thought was worth mentioning. Besides, it's been years since I last sang a song."

"Why did you stop?"

"I didn't like the attention."

"…seriously?"

"You're dating a recluse and you're surprised?" I asked.

"I thought I knocked you out of most of your reclusive habits."

"Emphasis on the word 'most'."

"Still though, that was really romantic of you." Mika said.

"What can I say? You picked the song. I just sang it."

"But it was so beautiful! You should sing more often."

I looked at my girlfriend. "Mika, are you sure that you want every single girl at Kamii trying to take me away from you just because I can sing?"

"Well, couldn't you just sing at home?" Mika asked.

Picking up singing again… might be worth it, if only to see Mika smiling. "I guess I could pick up my old habit of singing while I work at the lab. It's not like anyone else would be around to hear us." I said.

"So what now?" Mika asked, happy that she got me to do at least one thing.

"Well, I'm going to rework the pills once we get home."

"How are you going to incorporate the Rc suppressant in the pill? You can't just put it in, can you?" Mika asked.

"I've thought of a way to do it. All I have to do is make the pill slightly larger and put a membrane around it that dissolves upon contact with the saliva."

"So when the membrane touches saliva, the Rc suppressant that was between the membrane and the pill itself will be targeted at the tongue while the rest of the pill will still go down the like usual?"

"Yep."

I can feel it. The breakthrough is almost here.

* * *

Over the next few days I finally managed to create the first of the newest batch of pills. Now came the moment of truth.

To celebrate the moment, I had gone to the local grocery store and bought a cookie. Yes, a cookie. Cookies are awesome. Kind of. They're not my favorite per se, but sweet stuff is usually the easiest to taste, so it'll be a good measure of how effective the pill is.

"You ready?" I asked Mika.

She nodded. This was it. Our moment of truth.

"Right, here we go."

I took a deep breath before taking a pill, letting the membrane melt in my mouth before swallowing the rest of the pill. It hadn't actually been as simple as putting the Rc suppressants in the membrane. I had to put in another set of enzymes based around what you would normally find in human saliva and condense it enough to have it last through an entire regular meal for a regular human being.

Mika took her pill as well. "So, how are we doing this?"

I broke the cookie in half, before handing one of the halves to her. "Here."

One bite later, both of our eyes went wide with shock. And not because either of us had messed up on the pill composition.

I could taste the sweetness of the cookie on my tongue. I couldn't believe it. This was downright shocking, to say the least. The very fact that we could taste this meant that we would probably be able to taste other human food for what it was as well.

"Sora… is this what human food normally tastes like?" Mika asked, having already finished her cookie. She looked like she wanted more. And I couldn't blame her. After years of being only able to eat human flesh, being able to eat something else was a fresh change.

"Well, there are multiple different flavors, and cookies don't all have the same flavor. Besides, that there's also a ton of different kinds of foods with different flavors and textures."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get some more food!" Mika said, starting to drag me towards the door.

"Hold on a sec. I actually bought some different food that I have in the freezer." I said, shaking off Mika's deadlock on my arm (phew! Didn't get my shoulder dislocated again).

After a few more minutes of Mika prodding me about the food, I managed to finish making a shaved ice dessert with some fruit flavoring. After a couple more squeals of delight (holy moly, she can squeal?), we decided to go to Anteiku. Kaneki and Touka were manning the shop today by themselves, but it wasn't something that they couldn't handle.

They're going to love this. Being able to eat human food again is something that Kaneki would most definitely appreciate. He does love his hamburgers, after all. And tasting it only made it better for him.

As for Touka, she's been wanting to not have to worry about eating her friend Yoriko's food for a while. This will help her a lot. Especially if that worry is still embedded into her head.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. I would have preferred that worry over the other one that came up.

* * *

A few steps from the shop, we smelled the blood. It wasn't human blood. It was ghoul. The moment we smelled it, Mika and I rushed upstairs to see Touka crumpled on the floor. Mika helped her up while I looked around.

"Where's Kaneki?" I asked.

The silence from Touka was all I needed to confirm what had happened. I didn't even bother staying a second longer. I ran out and took to the skies, disregarding my mask. Finding Kaneki was important right now. Unfortunately, I figured out a few seconds later that trying to find him was pointless. The people who took him probably took him away by car. And with so many cars on the road, finding him would be nearly impossible.

I landed on the roof before going down. "They took him away."

Yoshimura and Yomo came in a few moments later to find the scene as it was.

"…Yomo-kun, gather everyone. Anteiku will be closing down for a while."

One last thing needed to happen. I needed to go tell Hide.

* * *

"What happened to him?" Hide asked, incredulous.

I sighed. It didn't help that the news was bad, or that it concerned his best friend. "He got kidnapped."

"I was right, wasn't I?" Hide asked.

I frowned. "Right about what?"

"A couple of days ago I ended up tailing someone that I thought was rather suspicious. I didn't realize until a bit later, but he turned out to be a ghoul from a gang called Aogiri Tree."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah. I know, I'm shocked that I even found out."

"And you're still alive?" I asked, incredulous.

"I got lucky." Hide said.

"What exactly did you do?" I asked.

"Well, I managed to place a tracking device on the bottom of his shoe. He keeps coming and going to this one spot in particular in the 11th Ward." He said, pointing to a point on the map.

I looked at the place that he was pointing to on the map. I didn't really recognize it, but I remembered Eto telling me to come to the 11th Ward if I ever considered joining Aogiri.

Here was the next question though. How were we going to rescue Kaneki? One small group of ghouls couldn't manage against a giant gang of them, no matter how strong each of us was individually. And it wasn't like we could get a small army… oh.

"Hide, have you talked to the CCG about this yet?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not yet. I wasn't sure whether or not I should do something like that. It seems a tad bit on the extreme."

"Hide, Aogiri is an organization run by a group of powerful ghouls with only one goal in mind: Ghoul Supremacy. They get what they want, the all of Tokyo goes down to hell. And after they take over Tokyo, they'll go on to take over the rest of the country."

Hide's face turned grim. "They're that serious, huh?"

I nodded. "You might want to get this information to the CCG. Maybe as an anonymous informant. I don't think we should have the CCG finding out about Anteiku in any form or fashion. You can just mention that you heard the name Aogiri Tree from the ghoul you were tracking."

Hide nodded. "I can do that much."

I sighed. "Thanks. To think that I had just made the breakthrough and then Kaneki got kidnapped."

"Huh? What breakthrough?"

I gave him the short version. "I managed to make a pill that allows ghouls to eat human food and absorb the nutrients."

Hide looked somewhat shocked. "Is that all you've done?" he asked.

I scratched my head. "Not really. I'm also working on synthesizing meat. Right now, it tastes somewhat bland, but eventually, I'm hoping that it will taste just like what ghouls usually eat so that they can accept it."

Hide shook his head in amazement. "You're amazing, you know that?"

I shook my head. "It's just something that needed to be done."

And you know what? Maybe one day people would look back on my work and think that it was amazing. I would probably be hailed as the one who brought about peace between ghouls and humans. Biology professors might put me up as a role model for prospective biology students, citing all the work that I had done into the study of ghoul and human biology in my quest to find the solution. They would find it incredible. Or they would find it insane that someone would go so far to do what no one ever considered doing before.

But for me? It was just a job that needed to be done.

* * *

**I'll cut the chapter here. There's a lot of other things that could be done, but I think I'll save that for next chapter. I've spent long enough on this chapter as it is.**

**I apologize for not updating weekly like I regularly do. This mostly has to do with the fact that I had finals to work on (ah the benefits of college) and inspiration to find for these stories. I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but I'll let it sit as it is for now.**

**Feel free to point out any mistakes that you find, or things that I could improve on.**

**Until next time!**

**XWX**


	18. Prelude

**Sorry for taking so long with this chapter.**

**Finals were a hassle, and then I had a week-long mission trip to go on the week after, so I didn't get that much time to work on this. Don't be too surprised if there's a drop in quality.**

* * *

The next few days of sitting around doing nothing were painful. Hide had sent a tip to the CCG about Aogiri's location, so now we were just waiting to see when the CCG would finally make its move. Before that though, Yoshimura called us for a meeting among the staff.

When Mika and I came to the break room at Anteiku, almost everyone else was there as well. Mostly everyone was watching the television, which was reporting news about the situation in the 11th Ward, besides Touka and Hinami. The amount of worry on Touka's face was concerning. I knew what she was worrying about Kaneki. And I couldn't say it wasn't her fault. She was essentially protecting the half-ghoul when Aogiri came and messed everything up, kidnapping the guy.

Nishiki handed her a can of coffee. "Calm down. That guy isn't as weak as he looks."

Hinami's worry for Touka was pretty evident as well. "Onee-chan…"

Touka finally dropped some of her worry. "Yeah."

A few moments later, Yoshimura opened the door. "Some people will be arriving later but we can start without them."

"Let's talk about the problems in the 11th Ward. We should discuss Anteiku's response. But first, I'd have one thing that I need to say regarding Kaneki, who has been abducted."

Everyone waited with their breaths held for a few seconds before Yoshimura continued. "I don't think we'll be able to have any more contact with Ken Kaneki."

You could literally feel the atmosphere in the room darken in that instant. I didn't even have to look at anyone else to see how they felt.

Nishiki was the first to react. "Hey, you old bastard! Don't say such vague bullshit! (really, Nishiki?)" And then the implications of what Yoshimura said hit him. "So then he's… Kaneki is already dead?"

Hinami's voice broke through. "I don't want that. I don't want to be unable to see Onii-chan again."

Yoshimura was quick to correct us. "I can't be sure whether he is alive or not. If he is safe, then rescuing him is possible. However, the worst case scenario is also possible."

"Well, is there's a possibility, we're going to save him, right?" Nishiki asked.

Yoshimura was grim though. "Aogiri tree is made up of ghouls who live only for the sake of fighting. Slipping into their stronghold and helping Kaneki-kun is no simple matter. Besides, there's also the matter of the CCG. We can't disregard their movements. I think a unit meant to wipe out Aogiri Tree will be sent to the 11th Ward soon. If that happens, we won't be able to interfere anymore."

He took a breath before he continued. "Even if we went to save him, the chances of us getting totally annihilated are high. Honestly, it's too dangerous."

Eh, I might disagree a tad bit just because Mika and I have fought those guys before. They are dangerous though. Can't deny that.

Nishiki was pissed. "Oi, what are you saying? You're just planning to abandon him? Say someth—"

"I'm going."

Everyone turned to see Touka's determined look. Well, that's a better look than the one of other dejection that she was wearing earlier.

"What was the policy of this shop again (to help other ghouls)? Manager, if you're not going, then I'll go alone."

Nishiki was the next one to speak up. "I… still owe him a debt. If he dies, I'll never be able to cancel it out."

Huh. This probably has something to do with when Mika and I were in Osaka.

"I want to help also!"

Literally no one expected Hinami to respond like that. I mean, from what I heard, Hinami has two different kinds of kagune, so that'll be useful, but her fighting experience is practically non-existent. Although… her sense of smell and hearing are pretty much top-notch. Maybe she can help with that.

"Onii-chan saved me before, so if there's anything I can do to help, I will."

The look in Hinami's eyes spoke lengths of determination. And the fists that she had raised up when everyone tried to convince her. I'll admit, it was kind of funny. I've never seen Hinami actually do that.

Mika spoke up. "Well, if Hinami's going, someone has to make sure that she's safe while we're there. And I don't trust Touka or Nishiki to do that."

"Hey!" Both of them were indignant.

I chuckled. At least we could get a little laugh out of that. "Well, if Mika's going, then I'm going by default. Besides, once we rescue Kaneki I need to give him something."

Yoshimura's face was still grim as he explained one thing.

"All of you, I have to say something so you don't understand me. I had intended to go after Kaneki-kun since the very beginning. I just want you to understand that I cannot guarantee your survival. If you'd like to go and rescue Kaneki-kun, then go and put your life on the line. In exchange, Yomo-kun and I will do all we can to protect you."

I figured Yoshimura wouldn't actually sit around doing nothing. He's not one of those guys who tries to approach things and give up if it's too dangerous. That used to be my department.

"Anteiku's policy is to help other ghouls. So, can you do that?" Yoshimura asked us.

Touka, Nishiki, and Hinami replied with a resounding "We can!"

Mika on the other hand, just smiled. "Of course we can. We're a team, after all."

"By the way, Irimi-san is going to help us out this time. She's going to serve as backup."

Say what? Mika didn't seem too perturbed by this. Probably means Irimi knows how to fight really well.

"Also," Yoshimura continued, "we have another support member. Please come in."

The door opened as a… rather creepy-looking guy walked in. Not really creepy in the sense that he looked like a creep. Actually, he looked well-mannered. The really creepy part was all the dramatic gestures he made. And the way his eyes almost locked onto me.

"Amore, long time no see." The guy said.

My brain translated the foreign word right away. The word 'amore' literally translated to 'love.' I couldn't help but think that this guy loved his Italian words. It didn't make sense to me. We're in Japan for the love of God.

Clearly, my response was the most toned down of all of them. Touka and Nishiki got to their feet, their stances defensive. Mika on the other hand took the opportunity to get between me and him, blocking me somewhat.

"Tsukiyama?! How are you alive?" Touka asked.

Oh… so this is the Tsukiyama guy. The guy that Mika told me to avoid. For the reason of… oh. So that's why Mika is between me and him.

Tsukiyama looked at Touka. "What? I just followed your advice."

Advice? Judging from Touka's face, she didn't actually expect him to take it seriously, whatever the advice was.

"I didn't have enough strength to get a person's meat, but I was able to cling on to life. And now my arm's back like this. It somehow reattached. Good thing I'm a ghoul. And I made a surprising discovery. I taste pretty delicious. If one eats good things they often become tasty themselves."

Wait… so he self-cannibalized? The hell? What brought him to that point? Wait, probably was about to die thanks to Touka or someone like that. Must have something to do with what happened a couple weeks back. Or something along that line.

"What a stubborn guy…" Touka muttered.

"But… oh… what's this smell? It smells almost as heavenly as Kaneki-kun's scent. And it appears to be coming from that man behind Shiraishi-kun. And… oh, what an exquisite eye." Tsukiyama said.

Not sure I appreciate being described as a meal.

"Touch my boyfriend and I will personally decorate the walls of this room with your insides, Tsukiyama." Mika growled.

"Ara, ara, I mean no harm. It's just that I find it curious that someone can have a similar smell to Kaneki-kun." Tsukiyama said, trying to placate Mika. Personally, I think it's not working. She might just tear him apart right there.

"Mika, if it comes to that point, I'll just handle it myself." I said.

"More importantly, why are you here?" Touka asked.

"Oh? Do you disapprove?"

"Yes!"

"I called him here. If he's here, the chances of a successful rescue increase. It's encouraging to have him as an ally." Yoshimura said.

"I'm honored, Mr. Yoshimura."

Touka tried to interject. "Th-that's true, I guess."

Tsukiyama started talking again. "I'm heartbroken. To think that my peerless friend, Kaneki-kun (say what?), would be exposed to great danger at the hands of those guys… there's no way I would want something like that to happen, right?"

Umm… if my guesses are correct, you tried to eat Kaneki. So really, you're just on this mission so you can eat him later.

Touka was more vocal in expressing the same thoughts. "He's so shameless. I won't allow it! Manager, this guy just wants to eat Kaneki, doesn't he? He doesn't intend to save him in the least."

Another voice popped up from right outside the room. "You don't have to worry about that. I will be keeping an eye on him. He won't be able to do anything needless."

Oh boy. How many people are outside? Next thing we know, Uta's going to be just outside the room as well or something along that line.

"Oh my. This is really upsetting. I have turned over a new leaf. My feeling of wanting to save Kaneki-kun is simply friendship (I call BS). It's because of my affection for him. I actually started to like him quite a bit (gay). But I'm an idiot so I only realized that recently (still calling BS all the way to kingdom come)."

Apparently, Nishiki still had some qualms about Tsukiyama. "Tsukiyama, you haven't forgotten about Kimi, have you?"

"His girlfriend." Mika whispered in my ear.

"Nishiki has a girlfriend?" I whispered back.

"Don't ask. I don't know how it happened."

"I don't have any interest in that thing now." Tsukiyama said.

Oh man. Way to push Nishiki's buttons. Touka stopped him from getting out of control though.

"Stop! It's pointless to fight among ourselves."

Whoa there. When did Touka mature?

"Oi, can we come in?"

Everyone turned to see Uta (goddammit I was right) and this one woman poking their head around the door.

"Itori-san and Uta-san?" Touka asked.

"Who's Itori?" I asked Mika.

"Runs a bar in the 14th Ward. Gathers information about what goes around. Apparently really good friends with Yomo and Uta." Mika said.

"Man, the manager is relying on us as well. Seems like something dangerous is going on. Well, here you go. It's just a rough sketch though." Itori said, handing Yoshimura a folder.

"Thank you, Itori-san."

"And this is from me." Uta said, holding a bag up. Yoshimura took it and looked in. I barely peeked over his shoulder and recognized the design. Aogiri masks. How did Uta figure out how to make them?

"As expected of you, Uta-kun. These are perfect." Yoshimura said.

"I'll be happy if they come in handy. And can I go along with Renji-san?"

Renji? Oh wait. He's talking about Yomo. Figures.

"Uta-san, you're going also?" Touka asked.

"Yeah. My body is going to grow weak otherwise. And there's something I'd like to see as a mask maker."

"Oh boy. This should be fun." Mika said.

"Lemme guess. Rivals?" I asked.

Mika nodded. "Nearly tore apart the Fourth Ward from what I heard."

Well, that should make things easier for us.

"Well then, Hinami-chan should go with Irimi-san and myself. Touka-chan, Nishiki-kun, and Tsukiyama-kun will be together with Yomo-kun and Uta-kun."

"And me and Mika?" I asked.

"You two will work as your own team." Yoshimura said, his verdict final on this. "The two of you should be more than capable of handling things on your own."

I nodded, my only sign of appreciation for Yoshimura's comment.

"Yoshimura-san." Enji interjected. "If Irimi is going, what should the 'Devil Ape' do?"

Yoshimura smiled as he looked at Enji. "I'd like the Devil Ape to protect the shop."

"…I accept!"

So… Enji is going to play the guard dog while the rest of us go on a potential suicide mission? Sounds interesting.

* * *

When Mika and I got back hope, I ended up having a really strange dream. Or a conversation. Like I said, it was weird.

I found myself sitting in a very familiar room. One that I hadn't been in for a while. But then again, when you're halfway across the world, the last place you expect yourself to be is at your old lab back in MIT.

All the tables were completely clear of anything, which was weird. I was never one to have all my stuff cleaned up. I would always set something up in preparation for my next project.

It was then I noticed the guy sitting across from me. I figured I was in a dream right then. Because the guy looked exactly like me. Minus the fact that he had his kakugan active at that moment.

"So, you're finally talk to me for the first time." The other guy said.

"Well this is interesting. I never thought I would end up talking to myself quite literally." I said.

The other 'me' shrugged. "We do it all the time anyway when you work on something. Nice work with the pills by the way."

"I'm pretty sure it's not like me to compliment myself." I said. "I'm not really in this for the credit or anything like that."

"True enough. You do get a kick out of being a sadist though."

"Alright, I'll bite. What exactly are you?" I asked.

He looked at me, amused. "What? I thought you already knew that answer. I'm you."

I sighed. "No. That's not what I meant. I know you're me. But I can't figure out if you're an aspect of my personality, a figment of my imagination, or something else like a representation of me talking to myself."

He shrugged. "Fair enough. I guess I'd be an aspect of your personality. Although you only picked me up after you became a ghoul, hence my eyes."

"Well, that pretty much answers my question. You're the sadist part of me."

"Ghoul part. But you're not too far off." He (I?) corrected.

I frowned. "I was already part ghoul before the transplant. I'm pretty sure you only appeared sometime after I got the transplant."

"Well, kind of. I mainly appeared because of the transplant. Speaking of which, why aren't you scared of me? You freaked out the last time you went on a sadistic streak."

"I'm pretty sure that was because you took over my body and made me do a bunch of stuff that I'm really not proud of." I said.

"In a sense. I am a part of you though. Maybe you should think of me as a second personality. One that appears whenever your first personality starts having cracks in the stability. I'm actually a safety switch for you."

I call bs. "In exactly what way?"

"Well, I do prevent our brain from overloading with cortisol."

"So basically you're here to keep me from stressing out."

"Yeah! Pretty much."

"You know, I thought you would sound much more sinister than this. Speaking of which, why are you here?" I asked. It's not like I've ever talked with my second personality before. I didn't even know it was possible. Apparently, dreams do weird stuff. I think I'll just call my second personality 'Second' (so original, I know).

"'Second'? Seriously? That's what you're going to call me?" He asked. (How did he— wait, I already know the answer to that).

"Unless you have a better idea of what I should call you, I'm sticking with calling you 'Second'." I said.

Second shrugged. "Fine. I'm mainly here to tell you that you'll probably be seeing me soon. After all, you'll pretty much be raiding Aogiri's base. It's a fair warning of sorts, I guess. Any time your brain stops denying that one of your friends is about to die, the stress starts getting to you. That's where I come in. I won't deny that I'll actually be enjoying this when I do take over. Causing pain is fun. And I only sound sinister when I actually get to go and murder people using your body."

I sighed. "Guess that's a reality that I can't deny. Can I just ask one thing of you?"

"I know what you're thinking. I won't hurt your friends whenever I take control. Don't worry about it. I'm mainly there to eliminate threats to people who hurt your friends. Especially Mika."

I frowned. "Wait a second, how did you— nevermind. That's a dumb question. We're the same person. Of course you would know what I was going to ask or what I was concerned about."

"Of course we would. We technically are in our brain, after all. If I'm not mistaken, we're in the hippocampus." Second said, looking around from where he sat.

"Why are we in the hippocampus— I need to stop asking stupid questions. This is going to be one of those dreams that I actually remember, isn't it?"

"Yep. As for why you're hippocampus looks like your old lab from back in MIT, that's mainly because our brain constructed a place that was familiar to you for when we dreamed. I have a feeling that we're not going to be in here the next time we dream." Second said.

"Second, I'm going to have to call bs on that explanation. The only reason you could have called it up was because there were comfortable chairs here."

"Alright, you got me."

I smirked. "Of course I did. After all—"

"You and I—"

"Are the same person. Alright, that's kind of creepy."

Second laughed before standing up and making his way to the door. "Just a bit. I'll talk to you later, alright?"

The moment he stepped out of the door, the dream dissolved and I fell back into dark sleep.

* * *

When I woke up, all I could do was scratch my head.

"What a weird dream."

"You had a dream?" Mika asked.

I glanced to my left to see that Mika was actually awake. And holding on to me like a teddy bear.

"This is a first. I've never actually seen you wake up before me." I said, a bit of teasing in my tone.

Mika pouted. "Well excuse you for being one of the best body pillows a girlfriend can have."

"So that's my purpose in life now? Being your personal body pillow?"

Mika snuggled in before replying. "Pretty much .So what was this about a dream?"

Mika probably would've pestered me until I died if I didn't tell her about the dream that I had. I'm beginning to think of it more as a conversation though. Either way, I told her.

After I told her, Mika just lay there thinking about what I said.

"So let me get this straight. You have a dream where you actually get to talk directly to your sadistic side, and it turns out that he's actually not that bad of a guy, he just has a bit of a sadistic streak?"

"Kind of."

"That's weird. I've heard of people talking to themselves, but this just brings things to a completely different level of strange."

"Well, I do talk to myself from time to time when I need to think."

"We've been over this before. That's because you're easily the strangest boyfriend in existence."

"Oh come on. There are tons of people who talk to themselves out there."

"None of them are former one-sixteenth ghouls with a split personality, you know." Mika pointed out. "And right now, you're the only person that I've heard of talking with your split personality."

"Alright fine, you win this time." I said.

"When do I not win?" Mika asked, a bright smile on her face.

"You know what? Fair point. I can't even argue with that because it's true."

"Still though. Your second personality doesn't seem too bad… oh who am I kidding. That sadistic side scares the hell out of me. I don't even care if it's not aimed at me, it's just scary." Mika said, shuddering a bit at the thoughts of what might happen.

"Quite frankly, I think he wants to get out more often." I said. "Unless… oh that is devious."

"What is?" Mika asked.

"So that's why he goes on cannibalizing streaks." I said. "What does cannibalizing do besides making you stronger and making you potentially lose your sanity?"

"Well, I've only heard of this, but apparently cannibalizing also turns you into a kakuja."

"And a kakuja is?"

"An evolved kagune. It pretty much acts as an enhancement for ghouls. From what I've heard, the intake of ghoul Rc cells can cause a mutation within the cells of the ghoul and change it into a kakuja. At the same time though, there are incomplete kakujas as well. While a kakuja isn't fully developed, the kakuja practically loses all of its sanity."

"Any idea what they look like?" I asked.

"Nope."

"So we know that cannibalizing makes people lose their mind slowly, and cannibalizing can also create kakujas as well. But while the kakuja is not fully developed, it doesn't have any sense of clarity at all. And my second personality comes in when I start losing control. So the more I lose control, the more my second personality gets to go out."

"So basically he wants you to lose control more often just so he can get more air?"

"Basically. I have a very messed up head."

"Well, to be fair, it could be even more messed up than it is right now." Mika said.

"Speaking of which, do you know anyone who would know more about kakujas?" I asked.

"Hmm. I think the manager might know something about kakujas."

"Huh. Great idea. I'll go ask him then."

Old man with lots of experience. He probably knows quite a bit about this kind of stuff.

* * *

"Can I help you with something, Sora-kun?" The manager asked.

"I was wondering about kakujas. Do you have any idea what they're like?" I asked.

Yoshimura was silent for a few moments. "You are broaching on a very dangerous topic, Sora-kun. Kakujas are extremely dangerous and obtaining one is nearly impossible for most ghouls. Not to mention the insanity that comes along with developing a kakuja."

"I've heard a bit about that already, sir. But what I was wondering more about how it forms." I said.

"Well, in that case, you should know one thing in particular. Kakujas tend to form as an armor of sorts, while also forming its own mask from Rc cells. Do not mistake its purpose though. Kakuja are nearly always purposed for enhancing the offensive capabilities of a ghoul. Almost never is it geared towards the defensive capabilities of a ghoul."

"Is it the same for every ghoul?" I asked.

"Never. Kakujas, if they are formed, are unique to each and every single ghoul. Family members may form kakujas that are similar to each other, but psychological factors must also be taken into account in the forming of a kakuja." Yoshimura said.

"Should we expect kakujas when we go into Aogiri's base?" I asked.

"For the most part, no. Kakujas, while strong, are difficult to obtain, as well as being nigh impossible to control in their incomplete states. As far as I know, there might be one kakuja at Aogiri. But I do not think she will be at the 11th Ward." He said.

"Well, that's a relief." I said.

"Why do you want to know this?" Yoshimura asked.

"…Well, recently, I discovered that there's a second personality of mine that takes control any time my brain starts hitting extreme levels of stress, mainly when I'm in combat with a difficult opponent. And this second personality of mine… likes cannibalizing." I said.

"I see. Sora-kun, what you need to know is that even though cannibalizing can lead to obtaining a kakuja, it does not necessarily mean that it will. However, I must ask you. What do you plan to do about it?"

I thought for a moment. What did I want to do about it? Second was going to come back again and again the more I got into these really dangerous situations, so I needed to figure out what I could do about it. The reality of things is, we're probably going to be in for even more fighting because of all the chaos that's going to happen thanks to Aogiri. So I had to wonder, what would I do? I spent a few minutes of thinking before I found an answer. A rather grim one, but it was something I had to face.

"If it were to come to a point where I start developing a kakuja, is there a way to keep me from going on a rampage?" I asked.

Yoshimura nodded. "I can personally make sure that you don't go out of control."

I sighed in relief. "Thank you sir."

I didn't necessarily have a perfect means of dealing with my personal demon yet, but at least I wouldn't unnecessarily hurt people if I lost control.

* * *

**Next chapter is Aogiri raid, start to finish (maybe not completely, but I plan something along that line). **


	19. Aogiri

**Sorry for taking so long with this chapter. My summer has been way busier than I anticipated. I was working almost every day, so the amount of time I had for fanfics was much smaller.**

**Onto another chapter. I'll admit, this one is going to be difficult for me because I'm wasn't even sure as to how I should write Sora into the Aogiri raid. This also might be shorter than expected because we're only following one person's perspective.**

* * *

Sneaking into the hideout wasn't that hard. Navigating it was a completely different problem.

While we did manage to get a good spot for Irimi to set up shop, the CCG and Aogiri were almost everywhere, murdering each other. I really didn't want to get involved in fighting directly with either.

For the moment, Mika and I acted as the response team while Touka, Nishiki, Yomo, Uta and Tsukiyama went off through the buildings trying to get an idea of where Kaneki was. Right now, we were with Hinami, Yoshimura, and Irimi, waiting to see if there was any significant change in the situation or they found Kaneki. It was actually nerve-wracking. We didn't even know if Kaneki was alive. For now, all we could do was wait.

"Building 2, Aogiri 16, Doves 18. Building 3, Doves. 14 on the move. Yomo-kun, keep on going and leave Building 7. The CCG isn't there."

I couldn't help but be amazed.

"You're amazing, Irimi-san." Hinami voiced my awe.

"You can do it too, Hinami-chan. We ghouls have excellent senses. For example, we can hear from the volume of the footstep the person's mass. From the type of sound, the textures. From the reflections of the sound waves, nearby surroundings. And from the rhythm, the nature of the person."

"And this applies to all ghouls?" I asked, somewhat shocked.

Irimi smiled. "Mostly those with enough talent for it. As long as you have the talent, you'll be able to do it."

"So Hinami should be able to do it as well." Mika deduced.

"She definitely has the senses for it." I agreed.

"Quiet you two, I'm concentrating. Aogiri has the upper hand at building 5. It's young, but I can hear the vibrations of tense kagune. I'd like to inspect the building at the edge of the facility," she said, pointing at the location on the map, "but it's rather soundproof. Hinami-chan, you try listening."

Hinami nodded before closing her eyes to concentrate. The next words she spoke instantly had me and Mika on the move. "Onii-chan?"

Mika and I jumped up to the roof before running along it to the building in question.

"So that building is our best chance of finding Kaneki?" I asked.

"Looks like it. Still though, why that building in particular? It's not like it's a convenient place to put prisoners. Too many opportunities to escape while walking between buildings." Mika noted.

"And it's not like handcuffs would be able to restrain ghouls. We're too strong for that."

"You know they could just use Rc suppressants, right?"

I frowned. Rc suppressants were hard to get outside of the CCG. The probability of Aogiri being able to get their hands on Rc suppressants was very low. I'm still confused as to how Andy managed to get his hands on them. I mean, once I figured out how to synthesize it, it wasn't that hard to make. In fact, some of the components of it are pretty commonplace. All the same though, if you didn't know the composition of the solution, getting your hands on it would be close to impossible.

"How would they get their hands on it though? It's not like—"

Mika and I were interrupted very abruptly by a shard of kagune that flew right by us. As I turned to face our attacker, my eyes widened for a second as I recognized him.

"Hey Sora. How are you doing?" Riku said, a smirk on his face.

I palmed my forehead. "You have GOT to be kidding me. I thought you were back at your home in Kyoto. What are you doing here in Aogiri?"

Riku placed his finger on his chin. "Hmm. Would you believe me if I told you that I decided to stay in Tokyo for a bit longer?"

"No. You joining Aogiri seems way more plausible. What kind of guy shoots his cousin after helping him settle in?"

Riku sighed. "Fair enough. And your guess is correct. Yes, I'm Aogiri."

"And what exactly are you doing here?" I asked, kakugan flaring out.

At that question, Riku started chuckling darkly. "Why Sora, I thought you already knew the answer to that question. You know Aogiri's goal, do you not?"

"Ghoul supremacy. You're telling me that you support that bullshit?" Mika asked (I'll admit, I was stunned. I had no idea that Mika was even possible of resorting to that language).

"Bullshit? Is that what you think it is?" Riku asked. "You're calling ghoul supremacy bullshit when you guys are hanging on to the idea that peace can actually happen between ghouls and humans? Tell me. Which one seems more logical to you? Bringing down the tyrants that hunt us no matter what? Or trying to make peace with them, knowing that even in times of peace, they still intend to kill us."

"And yet you decided to help me move in and even stayed with Anteiku for a short time." I noted.

"One last favor for the family. Andy got me out of a bind one time when he was in Kyoto, so I owed him. He told me to call it even after I helped you." Riku said, a frown on his face.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The CCG killed almost all of our family in Japan. I'm the last one." Riku said.

"And you're not wanted by the CCG?" I asked.

"They didn't know that I was the last survivor. They thought they had just wiped out our entire clan. Andy managed to help me escape and make a new life for myself."

"And now you're seeking revenge. Why?"

"Tell me, Sora. If I were to kill Mika at this very moment, what would you do?" Riku asked.

Oh… "Wait a second. How do you know about what happened?"

"I have my ways." Come to think of it, he probably heard about it from Eto. It would make sense. She was there during one of my rampages.

I narrowed my eyebrows. "So you're saying that my reaction is pretty much how you felt?"

"Exactly. Do you understand then, how offensive your family is? How offensive you and Andy are? Your family… I hate them all. A bunch of peace-loving idiots. You deserve nothing but death for your naivety. Your family sat by and did _nothing_ while my family was massacred."

"We're your family too, you know." I pointed out.

"Bah. No peace-loving idiot is family to me." Riku spat out. "Even Andy did nothing afterwards. He just preached bullshit about how revenge wasn't the way to handle things."

"He's right, you know." I said. Riku's attitude was growing more aggressive by the second, which was concerning.

"SHUT UP! What do you know? You're just a filthy crossbreed trying to make it out that you're one of us. You're an abomination, a result of a peace-loving idiot ancestor who thought harmony between races was actually possible. What utter nonsense. But you know what? That nonsense ends today." Riku said, kagune flaring out as more members of Aogiri surrounded us. None of them seemed like top fighters, but Mika and I needed to be careful still.

My eyes took note of his kagune. An ukaku. It looks rather like a writhing mass of flames. I'm guessing that's what he shot at us earlier. Mika and I instantly positioned ourselves back to back before throwing off the Aogiri masks we had and replacing them with our own masks.

"Any plans?" Mika asked me.

"You mean besides our usual?" I asked, kagune flaring out.

"Do we even have a usual course of action?" Mika asked.

I thought for a moment. "No, no we don't."

"Well that's just great." Mika said.

"Tell me about it."

One of the Aogiri guys got impatient and charge in before the rest. Mika and I reacted immediately, with me blasting him full of kagune shards while Mika created a shield to protect our backside.

While the first guy fell, Mika created some holes in her shield that I shot through right away. The moment I fired, I heard three bodies drop to the ground.

Mika brought the shield down a moment later and I turned to see three guys on the ground with kagune shards through their heads.

Well, four down, roughly ten to go.

The rest of them rushed us all at the same time. I counted. Three koukaku, two bikaku, two rinkaku, and an ukaku. Wait a second. That's nine.

A shot from Riku reminded me that there were ten. Well that explains why I was missing one when I counted.

I used my ukaku to engage the other ukaku ghoul in a ranged fight while my rinkaku kagune ended up trying to fend off four people at once while Mika handled the other four. Try as we might, we couldn't keep this up forever. Which was when the two of us came up with a brilliant idea at the same time.

I launched my rinkaku at one of the guys who was getting too close, forcing him to butt shoulders with the guy next to him. The moment he made contact, Mika shot her kagune right between their heads before willing thorns to come out from the sides of the kagune, piercing them through the sides of their heads instantly. Meanwhile, the ukaku ghoul had gotten too close, and I managed to nail him with a larger shard of kagune that instantly killed him.

Well, that's another three down. So that makes it seven people left. One of which was Riku. Who hadn't done anything besides shoot that one shard of kagune at me earlier. Which makes no sense. He was practically throwing a fit earlier. Still though, I don't think we're getting out of this easily.

Or so I thought. Mika on the other hand had a different idea. She shot her kagune into the ground before having it shoot up in a circle around all the Aogiri people and us. As the floor began collapsing, I grabbed Mika and started flying out. While I had avoided flying earlier because the CCG might have spotted me, desperate times called for desperate measures. As we flew away, I turned to see Riku staring at me, a look on his face that clearly said 'until next time.' I have a feeling that we're not going to see the end of him anytime soon.

* * *

Flying took longer than I thought. Thankfully enough, no one shot at us while we flew to the building where Hinami thought she heard Kaneki. Hopefully he's there. If not, I have no idea where he would be, if not dead.

"You're thinking about what Riku said, aren't you?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. But let's worry about that later."

We landed at the door of the building. Honestly, I'm not sure if Kaneki is even here. But it's our best shot at finding him.

As I opened the door, my ears picked up on some movement. I primed my ukaku to fire before a white-haired kid in some messed up clothes appeared before me, followed by some other guys behind him.

"Sora?" He asked.

I started. The voice was familiar, but the hair… "Kaneki?"

"Yeah, it's me." He confirmed.

"My God, what happened to you?" I asked.

He didn't really give me an answer. "A lot of things happened… but that aside, the CCG is attacking right now, right?"

I nodded. "Yep. Aogiri are fending them off at the moment. We used the opportunity to try and find you."

"Who else came?"

"Pretty much everyone from Anteiku minus Enji. He stayed to protect the shop." Mika said.

"I see…" Kaneki's voice drifted off.

I shook my head. "It doesn't really matter. The main goal of this mission was to find you and get out. Come on, we can leave now."

"No."

I stopped. "What do you mean, 'no'?"

"I… I still need to fight."

Mika looked at him. "You're in no condition to be fighting right now. Now come on, we should get going."

His only response was to take out his kagune and point it at me. "Sora, Mika, I can still fight. But I could use your help still. Could you get these guys out of here? They tried to help me escape earlier."

His kagune… is way stronger than it was before. And his eyes… it feels like they've lost all the innocence that used to be there. "…Mika and I can definitely get them out. But are you sure you want to stay?"

"I need to."

"…Alright. Touka and Nishiki are in that building over there."

"Thanks."

"Just don't get yourself killed. We spent a bunch of effort trying to get you out."

"I won't die." Was all he said before he ran towards the building that I pointed at.

I sighed before turning to the guys who Kaneki asked us to get to safety. "Alright, follow us. We're meeting up over there, a good distance from the facility."

As we got on the move, Mika and I started talking again.

"Kaneki's hair… it's not dyed, is it?"

I grimaced. "No, he didn't. And I think I know what caused it."

"You do?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "I read about it when I was writing one of my research papers at MIT, though I've never actually seen an actual case of it happening. Marie Antoinette Syndrome. Basically, the hair goes white from a trigger of some sort."

"And these triggers would be…?"

"I don't know that much about it, seeing as it hasn't been documented too well, but the triggers in question all relate to one thing in particular: stress."

"But for him to have been put under extreme stress…" Mika began.

I turned to one of the guys who was following us. "What happened to Kaneki?"

One of the guys who had a curly beard spoke up. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Mika asked. "You guys were in the same building. How do you not know what happened to him?"

"We were put in a different prison cell. Kaneki was taken by Yamori for whatever it is Yamori does."

"Yamori?" I asked.

"He's one of the higher executives at Aogiri. Loves torture more than anything else. Kaneki beat him and helped us escape."

Huh. Torture might do the trick.

"How did he escape?"

"He beat Yamori."

"…come again?"

"He defeated Yamori in combat. That's what we mean—"

"I know what you mean. You're telling me that Kaneki, a guy who's never been the pinnacle of fighting prowess, managed to beat a higher-up of Aogiri tree?"

"That's right."

Mika voiced my thought. "Just what happened to Kaneki to make him act like that?"

No one had an answer for us.

* * *

We ended up just standing at the meeting spot waiting for everyone else to arrive. A moment later, Nishiki and Touka arrived, supporting Touka, who looked in somewhat bad condition. No Kaneki though.

"Nishiki. Where's Kaneki?" I asked.

"Fighting Ayato."

"Ayato?"

"Touka's younger brother."

"Wait, Touka has a younger brother?" I was confused. I thought Touka was an only child.

"He left the 20th Ward a while back, started making a name for himself in the 14th Ward. But other than that, I don't know that much else about it."

"Huh. By the way, what happened to your glasses?" I asked. Nishiki looked so different without his glasses.

"Lost them when I was fighting with some Aogiri guys." Nishiki said, his face seeming a little bit ticked that he lost his glasses.

"And what happened to Touka?" Mika asked.

"Ayato happened. What exactly, I don't know."

I walked over to inspect Touka's injuries. There really weren't that many, which made me think that Ayato was going easy on her. Until I raised up the cloak she was wearing and saw her back.

"Oh. Ohh. I get it."

"What?"

"Ayato ate her kagune. There are bite marks around her shirt where her kagune would usually come out. Shouldn't take too long to recover, once she gets some food in her."

A moment later, Kaneki arrived, followed by Yomo, Uta, and Tsukiyama (he still creeps me out and will probably continue to do so until the day I die).

"Kaneki, looks like you're done." The guy with the curly beard said.

"Banjou-san… yes."

Touka managed to get up from where she was hanging on to Nishiki's shoulder. Everyone turned to look at the building where Aogiri had held base. Pretty much all of the noise had disappeared.

"It seems to be over." Yomo commented.

Nishiki sighed. "Whew. For a moment there, I thought I was going to die. It's hard to believe that I'll be going back to university and a normal life soon."

"No, normal life is important." Kaneki said.

"Speaking of which, don't we have that test coming up in biology?" Mika asked.

I groaned. "You have got to be kidding me. I haven't even studied for it yet."

"Why do you need to study for it?" Nishiki asked. "You already have a perfect grade in our class!"

"I like to keep my 100%."

"…Seriously?"

"Hey, I take my grades very seriously. Besides, there's more than just school. There's work at Anteiku also."

"That's true."

Kaneki just stared off into the distance as we discussed this. Touka was the first person to break his train of thoughts. "Hey, Kaneki. When we get back, why don't we change your hair color? If you work in the shop like that you'll stand out a lot."

Kaneki only smiled sadly at what Touka said. The next six words he spoke shattered literally everything we had planned for him.

"I won't be returning to Anteiku."

"…What?"

"There are things I need to do. For that reason I have to prepare. I have to get stronger. There are still a lot of things I need to find out. I have no time to waste."

My thoughts were somewhere along the line of 'you're wasting time at this very moment' but I quickly extinguished that thought to focus on what was going on. The guy with the curly beard walked up to Kaneki.

"Kaneki… you really saved my life this time. I want to help you. I can be a shield or your helper. Whatever you need me to do. Though I might not be of any use at all."

Kaneki simply smiled and extended his hand. "Thank you Banjou-san. You can help me. Let's do our best together."

Banjou, for a lack of better words, was happy. "Alright."

The other ghouls that Kaneki rescued spoke up. "If Banjou-san goes, we go too. Though I'm afraid we won't be much help to Kaneki-san (wait, what? They're calling him 'san' now?)."

Mika and I were startled by the clapping that occurred a moment later. Which was followed by an all-too-irritating voice.

"What a wonderful plan! If Monsieur Banjoi is the shield ("It's Banjou, but…"), I'm the sword. I will become the knight that cuts through your road of thorns."

I don't know what was stranger: Tsukiyama's flowery speech, or the look of utter indifference that Kaneki gave him. When did Kaneki have the ability to have such a look?

"Tsukiyama… so you were alive, after all."

"There's too much left for me to die." Yeah, like eating Kaneki. Although I'm not sure how much stronger Kaneki has become since we last saw him. Although clearly this is a trap of sorts.

"Can I be of use, Kaneki-kun?" He asked.

Every single thought process in my brain told me to tell Kaneki to say no just because it was clear that Tsukiyama was going to try and attempt to eat Kaneki.

Kaneki had a different idea. "Just Kaneki is fine. If Tsukiyama were our ally, it would certainly be reassuring. So please, lend me your help. However…" He bent down and whispered in Tsukiyama's ear.

Whatever Kaneki said evidently had a huge impact on Tsukiyama as he didn't even get up after Kaneki finished talking.

Touka tried to offer her help as well. "Ka… Kaneki. I also… I also want to help you—"

"Touka-chan, aren't you going to college?"

Ouch, flat-out rejected.

"Huh?" Was all Touka could say.

"Don't you have exams to take next year? You have to start studying soon. There might be an empty spot when I leave the shop. I'm sorry about that. I'll go by to drink coffee once in a while. I want to see Touka-chan's latte art. Your rabbit pictures… I like them."

Mika whispered in my ear. "This isn't a confession, is it?"

I shook my head. "No. This is him wanting Touka to live the normal life she always wanted. But still…"

"What?" Mika asked.

"His face. It's too sad. He really wants to, I can tell. But he's not going to, because he doesn't want her to follow him. He doesn't want to put her in danger."

Mika's face fell as she understood what I was getting at. "I see."

"See you, Touka-chan."

Touka stiffened before walking off. Nishiki watched her run off for a second before turning to Kaneki. "Hey, Kaneki! Wait, what was I going to say… oh yeah! Don't be rash and die, you shitty brat! (… really Nishiki?)" He walked off right after.

I sighed. "Ken."

He turned to me. "Yeah Sora?"

I tossed him a bottle of pills. "If you ever feel like eating a burger, take this before you eat it. It'll let you taste human food for what it is."

His eyes widened. "You completed it, Sora?"

I nodded. "I was going to give you some pills right after I finished them, but you ended up getting captured, so I never got the chance."

"Hmm, what is this?" Tsukiyama asked, looking at the bottle curiously.

Mika explained. "Enzyme pill. It allows you to taste human food the way humans taste it and digest it without feeling any side effects."

Tsukiyama's eyes widened. "You made this, Shiraishi-kun?"

"I made it." I said.

He looked at me in amazement. "How did you figure this out?"

I shrugged. "Lots of research and testing."

"Hmm. I see. Then can I perhaps ask you for a bottle of pills as well?"

I raised my eyebrow. "Why?"

"For a gourmet such as myself, it would be a crime if I did not allow myself to expand my taste spectrum."

I sighed before grabbing another bottle from my pocket and tossing it to him. "These pills last for about one hour. Be careful with it, as your ability to taste human meat as you regularly would will be gone."

Kaneki looked at me confused. "What, why?"

"Because the pill suppresses the ghoul's taste buds and forces them to recede. The layer of taste buds beneath is actually a set of human taste buds." I said.

"Sora, how did you figure this out—"

Mika cut him off. "Do you really want me to explain the specifics to you?"

"Uhh, not really." He said sheepishly.

That very moment made me realize something. Under all that new seriousness that Kaneki had developed, the innocent side of him still existed. Just barely, but it was still there. And that made me a bit sad, realizing that he had lost most of his innocence.

I chuckled. "I'll see you later. If you need to refill, come and see me. I'll give you some."

"Thanks, Sora."

"Later." I said, before Mika and I walked off.

Really though, underneath all that new bravado of his, he's still an idiot.

* * *

"That idiot did WHAT?"

I winced. We all managed to get back to the 20th Ward, minus Hinami, who had decided to go with Kaneki. I was somewhat concerned, but I figured Kaneki could take good care of her. While Touka had instantly gone home and Mika had gone to comfort her (another side of Mika that I had never seen before), I decided to go to Hide's place to explain what happened.

"Hide, not so loud. My ears are sensitive."

"Sorry. But what did Kaneki do?"

I sighed before explaining once again. "He's not coming back to the 20th Ward. He said there was something that he needed to do."

Hide raised his eyebrow. "And he needed to do what?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. He didn't say. I have a few guesses, but I have no actual clue. Would you know anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean about Kaneki. What's he like? You've known him since you guys were kids, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So you would know more about Kaneki than I would."

"I haven't seen him recently though."

"Hide, you like playing detective. You know just as well as I do that someone's personality is the result of the buildup of many things on top of each other."

Hide hesitated for a moment before consenting. "…Alright, I'll explain it to you. Don't tell Kaneki that I told you though."

"I promise."

"Up until fifth grade, Kaneki was your average, shy, nerdy kid. He didn't mind if people bullied him. But that changed after his mother died. Both of his parents are gone. His father died when he was really young and his mother died from overworking."

I sat patiently. "Keep going."

"You're making this sound like a visit to the psychiatrist." Hide grumbled.

I laughed a bit. "I like having all the facts before I make educated guesses."

"Fair enough. There's only one other thing of real significance though. I felt like he always wore a mask, like he pretends to be someone else. It puts a huge burden on him."

I pieced together the facts. Father died when he was young, mother died when he was in fifth grade. He's always wearing a mask…

"I got it."

"What? Already?" Hide asked.

I explained to him. "He's afraid of losing those close to him. He can't bear to be alone. That's why he rejected Touka's offer to go with him. He doesn't want Touka anywhere near danger because he doesn't want to lose her in case something goes wrong. At first, I thought it was because he wanted her to live a normal human life that she always wanted to live, but what you just told me explains a lot. He doesn't mind being hurt, as long as other people that he cares for aren't hurt. More than anything else, he's afraid of being alone."

Hide sat in stunned silence for a moment. "You really have it figured out."

I shrugged. "Wasn't too hard once I had the details. Besides, He's not too different from me."

And he really isn't. Well, minus the fact that Life decided to be a bitch and slap him in the face with a large frying pan called Tragedy. But all things considered, that's really the only difference.

* * *

It was late at night when I finally got back to my home. Mika was standing there looking a slight bit impatient. "What took you so long?"

"You mean minus the fact that it was kind of hard to explain to Hide why exactly his best friend wasn't going to come back to the 20th Ward? Not much."

"Did it really take that long?"

I sighed. "That and diagnosing Kaneki's problem."

I would have explained what his problem was to Mika, but she put a finger on my mouth. "Much as I want to hear the explanation, now is not the time. You should really rest and reorganize your thoughts."

"Normally, I would try and disagree with you, just to try and find a fault in your logic, but I think I have to agree with you this time. I'm actually tired."

The stunned silence that followed was confusing.

I frowned. "What?"

"I never thought I would hear you admit that you were tired."

"A lot of things happened."

"That's true."

We didn't even bother with brushing teeth or anything like that. Mika and I just plopped onto the bed, just adjusting ourselves so we were comfortably in each other's arms before we fell asleep.

* * *

**Normally, I wouldn't end it on sleep, but I think that's enough for one chapter.**

**Whew! Managed to finish the entire Aogiri raid in a single chapter. But when you're looking at literally only one person's perspective, writing the chapter becomes a lot shorter.**

**Anyway, I'll try not to be too slow with the next chapter.**

**Until next time!**

**XWX**


	20. Stuff Happens

**This next chapter is going to be a lot more lighthearted than the last few chapters. Nothing too bad or anything like that. There will be one serious moment though. Will make attempts at humor, although I expect that to go poorly. We're gonna jump a few months here also. And I mean a ton of months when I say that, really.**

* * *

The next few days were rather simple. With the exception of the test that came up in biology. Which was what Mika and I were talking about at the moment.

"How did you manage to get a perfect score on that exam when I spent more time studying than you?"

Mika was a little miffed at the moment. I mean, 95 out of 100 isn't that bad of a score on an exam like that. In fact, it's pretty good. So I'm not sure why she's so mad.

"If you followed the study schedule that I did, you'd probably get 100 on it also."

And really, my study schedule is actually well thought out. Part of the secret to success in college is making enough time to study. One of the best ways to do that is to actually study what you'll learn in class thirty minutes before class starts. That way, you have an idea of what's going on in class and you can ask questions about stuff you don't understand and follow the material better instead of just being confused. After class, spending thirty minutes to review your notes is also a good idea, as it helps you to retain the information when it's at its freshest. That way, you get about an hour of studying in for the class. Throughout the day, you'll want to spend one more hour of studying per class. By studying, I mean not distracted by anything else like social media or talking with people. (**A/N**: This is actually a legitimate strategy for studying. My mother got a 4.0 through using this method back when she was in college)

"You know that's a really unreasonable study schedule, right?" Mika asked.

"Hey, it works fine. And you actually have time after you finish studying to go do whatever you want, so it works out pretty well."

"What I usually want to do and what happens usually don't coincide." Mika commented dryly.

"Well, at the very least, we got the midterm finished." I said.

"Yeah. Well, we only have to wait about two more months before the term's done and then we're free to do whatever. Including joining you for your graduation ceremony where you get your research degree."

"That actually happens in June, but yeah. Basically we'll be getting a 3 month break. I can show you around Boston, MIT, all that fun stuff."

"Why do schools in America start and end at different times than they do here?"

"I dunno. It's kind of weird."

"Definitely."

* * *

Sometimes I feel like surprises are the best things in the world. Other times, they're the worst. When you think about it, it makes sense, given that the nature of surprises can be so varied. This time around, it was a pretty good surprise. Nothing really bad happened.

It all started when I checked my lab this morning. Mika had left a note saying that she would be at work early. The other thing that was strange was that she had taken not just one box, but three boxes of my enzyme pills with her. It confused me for a while.

I ended up just walking to work because I still needed to go there. At the very least, this was suspicious. Mika and I have practically the same work shift, with only one or two days that we go to work at different times. I knew from memory that today wasn't one of those days.

Today though… what day is today again? Something has to be going on today, I just don't know what.

As I walked into Anteiku, I kept on running through possibilities through my head. Today wasn't a holiday, I knew that for sure. And Mika's birthday definitely wasn't today. It was actually on Valentine's Day, which I thought was pretty neat. And last I checked, it was still January. In fact, it was still more than a month before Mika's birthday. After all, it's January 10th, which is still technically more than a month from her birthday. Come to think of it, there was something that was actually important about today. What was today again? Was it the day when Anteiku reopened or something? Or maybe it was—

"SURPRISE!" I was startled out of my thoughts by everyone at work, with a sigh hanging from the ceiling saying 'Happy Birthday Sora!' as well as a cake that looked like it was large enough for all of us.

Right. Today's my birthday. I completely forgot. Shame on me for forgetting.

"When did you guys plan this out? And how did you find out about when my birthday was?" I asked.

Mika looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I may have looked through the school records to find out when your birthday was about a few months back."

That's… actually the exact same thing I did to find out when Mika's birthday was. Wow. Talk about thinking alike.

"How exactly did you guys plan this out without me knowing about it?" I asked.

"Because we planned out literally everything today." Mika said with a grin on her face.

Oh. That explains why she left the condo early. And took all those enzyme pills. "Did you really need that many boxes of pills?"

"Well, I did want everyone to have some pills for the cake. And Yoshimura-san said that it would be a great idea, given everything that we've done to get to this point."

"Yeah but there's still more to be done!" I protested.

"Sora, it's only a couple hours at most that you'll be losing. It's not that bad." Mika said.

I sighed. "Yeah I guess. And it's going to take a long time before we can start distributing on a large scale."

"Oh stop being gloomy. It's your birthday for crying out loud! I even went out of my way to get a vanilla ice cream cake before I got here."

I will not lie, I am a sucker for vanilla ice cream. Especially in cake. I didn't even bother wondering how Mika knew that I liked vanilla in particular. "You know what, I think I can stop being productive for once."

"How is this not productive— you know what, nevermind that question. I know what you're going to say."

"Right, so are we going to eat the cake or not?" I asked.

We ate the cake, which was really good. Even compared to the ice cream cakes they made back in the States. The only downside to this little birthday surprise was that I had to do something just as good for Mika's birthday, or better. But honestly, it's not that much of a downside. It's really more of an obligation that I know I'm going to have to fulfill.

Speaking of which, I still don't know what I'm getting.

* * *

"Remind me, why are we shopping again?" I asked.

"Oh come on Sora. It's not just any average shopping place, it's Takashimaya Times Square!" Mika said.

Takashimaya Times Square: One of the biggest shopping centers in all of Tokyo. Currently, Mika and I were here with Nishiki and Kimi. It was my first time meeting Kimi. And to say the least, I was somewhat surprised to see that she was human. She seemed so… normal. Minus the fact that she knew Nishiki was a ghoul and all that stuff, but she seemed so normal otherwise.

"That still doesn't explain why we're here." I said.

Mika wrapped her arm around mine before we continued walking. "The formal is coming up, remember? And you don't have a suit, I don't have a dress, I think we need to do a bit of shopping."

Yet somehow I don't think that this qualifies as 'a bit of shopping.' On the upside though, I can get some necessary shopping done. Hopefully. Assuming Mika doesn't ask me to help her look at dresses. I really doubt she will though. Kimi could probably help her though, so I should be able to do whatever I need to. Although come to think of it, I could probably get a gift for Mika, seeing as the formal is on February 14th. Which is also Mika's birthday, as well as Valentine's Day. I think the biggest irony here is that her birthday is on the day meant to celebrate love and she's spent years rejecting guys before we started dating.

The whole formal thing was confusing to me. I've never actually gone to a formal, and according to Seiichi (I called him just to ask), Mika hasn't either. Yet for some reason, she was set on going to the formal.

After we found ourselves at one of the fancier stores that sold tuxes and dresses, Mika and Kimi went off to go find some dresses while Nishiki and I ended up looking at the tuxedos. They weren't that hard to find. After the two of us managed to find stuff to where, we finished our purchases. Thankfully enough, I wasn't growing anytime soon, so I could stick with this tuxedo for a while.

"I don't get it. How is it that you can buy the more expensive stuff?" Nishiki asked. There was this one suit that he had liked, but he simply didn't have the money for it.

I shrugged. "Let's just say when your family is very financially sound, you tend to be able to buy whatever you need."

"Haha. Very funny. So what are we going to do now?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno. I was thinking of getting a birthday gift for Mika."

Nishiki nodded sagely. "Sounds like a plan. What did you have in mind?"

Honestly? I didn't actually have any idea what to get. Mika's favorite flowers were roses (the irony was not lost on me), but flowers die out. And they're usually only meant for asking people out on dates. Mika and I are already dating, so that idea is out of the question.

I was about to answer his question when something caught my attention in one of the stores nearby.

"Hey Nishiki, do me a favor."

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Distract Mika. I found the perfect gift."

"Eh, sure. I think I can manage for a few minutes."

"Perfect."

Later, after sufficient distraction, all of us had regrouped, with Mika and Kimi having no idea of what I had gone and bought. I'll admit, it was actually a rather dangerous choice of gift, seeing as the two of us haven't been dating for even a year. Still though, I think this is the gift to get.

* * *

About a week before the formal, Mika and I were once again in the lab, trying to figure out some stuff regarding synthesized meat and the like. Kaneki had stopped by to pick up some boxes of pills so he and his group could eat human food. Apparently, Kaneki had to restrain Tsukiyama from ordering everything on a menu when they were at this one restaurant. I had a small laugh over that.

The main thing in particular that we were trying to figure out was how to deal with the taste of the meat. Synthesizing a meat that is edible didn't take that long to figure out. The taste, on the other hand, was a completely different question. If I were to guess, the lack of taste probably comes from the fact that we're growing it on nutrients. It doesn't have the uniqueness to it that every single person has. After all, the flavors of people vary based on what they eat and the condition of their body, whether it be fat, skinny, well-muscled, that kind of stuff.

"Hey Sora, I think I found something. Come take a look at this article."

I complied. Not much else to do besides the research, after all. The article in question was a shocker though. Apparently, the hemoglobin found in sugar beets is actually really similar to hemoglobin found in human blood.

A quick explanation for those of you who don't know: Hemoglobin is the vital substance that carries blood to all tissues of the body, found in humans, animals, and plants. The purpose varies for each one, but the structure remains the same.

It also happens to be the thing that makes meat taste like meat. Which, in other words, meant that the synthesized meat project that Mika and I were working on didn't have to taste like rubber so long as we managed to mix the hemoglobin in with the meat once it was ready to package.

"You think we could use this for the synthesized meat?" Mika asked.

I thought about it for a moment. "We need to get a lot of the hemoglobin if we want to use it for the synthesized meat. But if we can grow it ourselves, we might be able to do something along that line."

"How about we get some hemoglobin from the sugar beets and then figure out the right amount for each piece of meat that we grow so that ghouls don't complain about the lack of flavor?"

"Mika, that idea is genius."

* * *

February 14th, the day of the formal. To be honest, I've been dreading this day. I don't dance in any way, shape or form. But thankfully enough, there was some simple reception where people could just hang out if they wanted to.

I put on my tuxedo, which was black with a blue vest and tie. The quality was nice, but I mainly bought it to complement Mika's dress.

Mika was wearing a black dress that slowly faded to blue as it went down, stopping at about the middle of the lower leg. I'll be honest, I felt my breath catch for a second when I saw her. Put simply, she was beautiful. I didn't really know any other way to put it.

Mika smiled at me. "Should we get going?"

I nodded, still in a bit of a dazzle. "Sure."

Before we got the facility where the formal was being held, I turned to my girlfriend. "Hey, can you close your eyes for a second?"

Mika promptly closed and opened her eyes in a second. "Done."

I sighed. And there's the classic Mika sass. "For a moment?"

Mika pouted. "Come on. You can't just ruin my fun like that."

Nevertheless, she obliged. In that moment that Mika closed her eyes, I pulled out the gift I had bought, a necklace, and clipped it around Mika's neck.

"Ok, you can open your eyes now." I said.

As Mika opened her eyes and looked at the necklace, she gasped. Given the necklace in question, it wasn't too surprising that she was shocked by the gift. The chain of the necklace was white gold, which is pretty expensive. But the most expensive part of the necklace was the pendant. And it was a one of a kind. Very expensive. But worth everything in the world if it made Mika smile.

I don't know how it was done, but someone managed to make this pendant against all odds. There was a tear-shaped diamond that hung off the chain. Inside the diamond (yes, inside it), was a tiny rosebud. I don't know how the guy did it, but he managed to somehow get a genuine rosebud inside the diamond, and seal it off, preserving it forever.

"Happy Birthday Mika." I said with a smile.

Mika was almost at a loss for words. Just almost. "How… When did you…"

"When we were at Takashimaya Times Square." I admitted. "I figured you would like the rose, so I—"

Mika shut me up with a huge kiss. For a moment, I couldn't even breathe properly.

After she released the kiss, she took a step back and coughed. "Umm, it's really beautiful, Sora. Thanks."

I was still in shock.

Mika noticed this and rolled her eyes. "The first kiss we ever had, you didn't even react half this bad. I almost die and you're completely out of sorts. This kiss happens and you're just standing there like a slack-jawed idiot. At least do something!"

That didn't really bring me out of my stupor. Although I guess she's right. This is the first time I've reacted like this. Although it's really more of a non-reaction than a reaction, I guess. To be fair, we've never actually had a kiss that intense before.

Mika sighed before wrapping her arm around mine. "Come on Sora. Let's get going."

At the very least, it got me moving. We may have done some things later after the formal, but I don't really want to go into any details. I'm sure you can all imagine where it went.

The formal itself was nice. We didn't really dance (I don't dance), but it was fun regardless. We couldn't really have the human food, seeing as I didn't want people looking at me funny when I popped a pill in my mouth.

* * *

About a month after the formal, the term at Kamii finished. Before Mika and I left for the States, we stopped by Anteiku to make sure everything was in order.

"Touka, there's a study guide for you on the table upstairs in the break room, make sure you use it. It took me the better part of an hour to compile."

"Kaya, Enji, there's a small booklet with instructions for every single flavor I have ever made. If someone orders a flavor of the month, make sure you use that book."

"Remember, we'll be gone for a couple of months, so you might need to hire a new worker or two. I left a large box of pills upstairs in case you guys ever need it, so don't go barging into my home to grab some pills. There should be enough to last you for at least three months, and I'll probably be back before then." I said.

"Sora, relax. It's not like it'll be the end of the world if we don't have access to your pills. We've survived for a while without them." Nishiki said with an exasperated look on his face.

"Hey, it never hurts to stay careful." I pointed out. "And I still need your help figuring out mass production. There's only so much I can make at any given moment."

"Point taken."

* * *

So glad airports don't have Rc scanners. That made getting on the plane so much easier. I had a small tense-up moment when Mika walked through the airport scanner, but nothing bad happened, so it was alright. I wasn't sure if I was going to have that problem as well, but I figured if Mika didn't trip up the airport scanner, that meant it wasn't an Rc scanner. Which meant that I would be safe as well.

When I ordered the plane tickets, I made sure that Mika's seat was right next to a window. Normally, I would take that seat when I was on a plane, but I wanted to give Mika a chance to see the world from the sky.

When we took off, Mika had a bit of a scare, as she didn't realize just how fast we would be going to take off. Once we were in the air though, Mika's face turned into amazement.

"Flying in a plane is so different from flying with you…" Mika said.

I smiled. "Well, it would be different. I mean, when you're flying with me you're just barely above all the hassle. Trying comparing that to being more than a mile above the ground."

"We're a mile above ground?!"

"Umm, yeah. Something like that. I don't remember exactly how high, but we're pretty high up in the air."

Mika looked down at the clouds beneath us. "So this is what clouds look like from above. It's almost like you could step on them."

"Just don't actually try stepping on them. You'd probably plummet to a very gruesome death." I joked.

"No I wouldn't." Mika said brightly.

"Huh?"

"Because you'd be there to catch me if I fell." Mika said.

"Oh, uhh..." Dammit. She got me. I can't even prove her wrong because she knows I would never do anything otherwise. Is this what they call 'wrapped around the finger'? Or is she just remembering the fact that I can fly?

Mika smirked. "Gotcha."

Ok, it's definitely the former, without a shred of doubt. "Yeah, you did." I yawned, feeling sleep climb into my thoughts. Normally, I'd be appalled at the idea of sleeping. But the entire trip from Tokyo all the way to Boston is going to take somewhere around 15+ hours, so sleep is a must.

Mika snuggled up to me. Well, as much snuggling up as is possible when you're on a plane. They're not exactly the most comfortable of places to sleep, regardless of what class you order your seats for. Not to mention the whole 'seat belts on when seated' regulation made things harder for us. I mean, I can understand why it's necessary, but I don't like it all the same. Especially because we'll be in these seats for a while. A very long while.

* * *

"We're gonna be jet lagged for a while, aren't we?" Mika asked with a sleepy yawn as we got to the pickup zone to wait for our ride.

I nodded before putting my hand over my mouth to suppress a yawn. "Yep. More than halfway across the world, we're definitely going to feel the jet lag for a while."

Mika nodded sleepily. "Great. Anything else?"

"Well, our ride is here." I said, seeing Andy's car.

I waved to Andy. As he pulled, he gave me a confused look.

"What?" I asked.

Andy blinked. "You didn't tell me that one of your friends was coming back with you."

Oh… "It might have slipped my mind." I admitted.

My workout-crazy cousin shook his head. "Stuff like this always slipped your mind."

He turned to Mika and extended his hand. Thankfully enough, his Japanese is pretty much fluent. Mika's English isn't that great yet. "Hi, I'm Andy. Anyway, what's your name and what relation do you have to my idiot of a cousin?"

"Hey!"

Mika blinked back sleep from her eyes before shaking his hand. "I'm Mika. And to answer your question, I'm your cousin's lab partner, as well as his girlfriend."

"…"

I looked at Andy, who seemed to have frozen in place. "Uhh, Andy?"

"…"

"Hello?"

"…"

"Earth to Andy, are you there?"

"…"

I think Mika might have very possibly broken Andy.

* * *

"GIRLFRIEND?!" Andy was downright incredulous.

While we did finally manage to get all the stuff in the car, Andy refused to believe what he just heard.

I sighed. "Yes, Andy, Mika is my girlfriend. We've been dating for a while now."

"Excuse me, dear cousin, while I proceed to call bullshit on that very statement. You rarely ever leave your lab, you're easily the most antisocial person in MIT, if not in all of the United States, and last I checked, you have NEVER pursued or been interested in a relationship." Andy listed off the points on his finger.

"Studying abroad does things to you. You should try it."

"Evidently, it did, seeing as it managed to change my antisocial cousin into a guy with GIRLFRIEND of all things. You're sure this isn't a very elaborate prank?"

"Andy, have I ever pulled a prank this elaborate on you?"

"Eight months ago. You set up my water bottles so that they would flash-freeze the moment I opened them."

"Oh yeah, I remember that! It wasn't that elaborate, was it?" I said, remembering Andy's face of utter shock when he opened up the water bottle. Priceless.

"You literally prepared the perfect temperature so that when I opened up the bottle, it would instantly freeze over. Not to mention the ones outside that conveniently started freezing the moment they entered my mouth. How did you pull that off with every single water bottle in the house?" He asked.

"Richie helped me. And the ones outside only froze because you had an ice cube in your mouth. They wouldn't have otherwise."

Andy shook his head. "Near-freezing water will crystallize when making contact with a cold source. How did I forget? But I digress. We need to address the main point here. You having a girlfriend."

"You know, I don't see why it's so hard to comprehend that your cousin has a girlfriend." Mika said from the back seat."

"Because it's Sora! He was literally the epitome of antisocial people."

"'Was' being the key word here. I fixed him up pretty good." Mika said.

"Yeah, but… but…" Andy relented. "I give up. My cousin has a girlfriend. I don't have anything else to say."

"See, it wasn't that hard to accept." Mika giggled.

"It's not that. It's just… I can't think of any good arguments that can explain why you introduced yourself as Sora's girlfriend. Aside from the obvious ones of course."

"You mean besides the fact that we're dating?"

"Yeah that."

"Well, did you know your cousin saved my life? Twice?"

"He did?" Andy looked at me curiously. "What happened?"

I grimaced as I forced myself away from a somewhat painful memory of Second taking over my body and going all sadistic.

Mika, sensing that I didn't want to talk about it, answered for me. "He fed me some of his own flesh so I could regenerate from some really bad wounds."

Andy almost started. "Wait, so you're a ghoul also?"

Mika nodded. "Yep. Rinkaku."

"Okay, so that makes a little bit more sense." Andy said. "How'd you meet Sora in the first place?"

"I worked at Anteiku. And let me tell you this, your cousin makes really good coffee."

"Oh yeah, I remember directing Sora to Anteiku. Speaking of which, did Riku help you get settled in?"

"…" Riku…

"What? Did something happen?" Andy asked.

I coughed. "Yeah, about that…"

_One explanation late…_

Andy sighed. "Somehow, I feel like I should have seen that coming. Riku was always a too fixated on revenge."

"Yeah he gave off that vibe when we ran into him during the CCG raid on Aogiri's base." Mika commented.

"We'll focus on that another time though. There are more important things coming up." Andy said.

"More important things?" I asked my cousin.

He explained. "Two things really, one with a higher priority than the other. The lower priority one is a ghoul gang that started ramping up in terms of activity. And you and I both know exactly how bad the CCG here is at keeping ghouls under control."

I nodded. "So basically we're going to take those guys out. What's the higher priority thing?"

Andy looked at me in utter shock. "Sora, do you remember what day today is?"

I checked Andy's phone. March 23rd. It wasn't even a second before my eyes popped out of their sockets (not literally, that would be weird).

"Andy, drive to Target. Now."

"On it."

"What? What's going on today?" Mika asked.

"Lily's birthday is today. I completely forgot until just now" I said, face grim.

"And that's important because…?"

"Mika, if you had a small, adorable cousin, you would understand exactly why it's important. They love playing. And it's important to make sure that they always have enough fun when playing. Besides, I promised to buy her a traditional Chinese yoyo once she turned three."

"Fair enough, I guess."

* * *

"Andy! What took you so long? We've been waiting for almost an hour and a half." I could hear Aunt Deb (short for Deborah in case you're wondering) scolding her older son.

So explaining some family stuff might be in order before I go on. You guys might remember that Andy lives with Aunt Deb and Uncle James, who, unsurprisingly enough, are his parents. Richie, one of my other cousins, is his brother. Lily is the child of my Uncle Robert and Aunt Jessica. And she's the youngest member of our huge, extended family. Uncle Robert died a few years back, but everyone in our family has pitched in to raise Lily, so she lived a relatively normal life. Well, as normal as a ghoul's life can be.

Andy, who had gone in before Mika and I did in order to buy me enough time to wrap Lily's gift with some hastily bought wrapping paper, was trying very hard right now to hide the fact that I was back until I finished wrapping present.

"Sorry mom. I had to get some things done before I got back." Andy said.

"And what exactly is worth making your dear little cousin wait another hour to celebrate her birthday?" She asked.

I managed to get through the door with the wrapped up present just as Aunt Deb asked that question. "Would picking up her favorite cousin from the airport count?" I asked.

"Sowa!" Lily jumped up and ran to give me a hug. She may not be able to pronounce my name still, but she is still the most adorable little thing out there. One does not simply compete with those puppy eyes that she has. I smiled and picked her up, giving her a huge hug while I was at it.

Aunt Deb, who had been somewhat shocked to see me, simply shook her head in amusement. "You know what, I think it was well worth the wait."

Mika peeked in from the front door. "Is it safe to come in now?"

Aunt Deb raised her eyebrow. "Sora, who is this?"

"Oh, right! Aunt Deb, Uncle James, Aunt Jessica, this is my girlfriend, Mika."

I just stood there waiting for the inevitable barrage of embarrassing questions that was bound to come my way any second.

"…"

Or stunned silence. That one isn't too surprising either.

"I'm sorry, Sora. I might have misheard you. You said 'friend', right? Not girlfriend or something like that?" Uncle James asked from where he was sitting right next to Aunt Jessica.

Andy sighed. "Dad, I asked Sora practically the same question when Mika first introduced herself to me. And no, it's not a joke. Sora actually has a girlfriend."

"Girlfriend. As in a girl that's a friend or a girl that Sora is dating? Because the former makes a lot more sense than the latter." Richie asked as he walked downstairs.

I sighed. "Girl that I'm dating. Is it really that hard to comprehend?"

Everyone present, with the exception of Lily, who had no concept of dating yet, answered with a "Yes."

Well, everyone present. My parents weren't here quite yet, so I'm not quite sure what they would say about this.

"See, I told you that Sora was going to get a girlfriend when he was in Japan." A voice said from the door.

…Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Well, in this case, she. Everyone turned to see Mom and Dad walking in, Mom having a triumphant smirk on her face that clearly said 'I called it.'

"And I thought you were kidding when you told us that Sora was probably going to get a girlfriend." Aunt Jessica commented.

"I think we've all learned a valuable lesson here, haven't we?"

"Agreed. Never bet against Yo." James said. "She's almost never wrong."

"So with that out of the way…" Aunt Deb said, turning back to me.

I gulped, knowing what was coming.

"When did you two start going out?"

"How did you first meet?"

"Who made the first move?"

"Why didn't you tell us about this before you got back?"

"Girlfwend?" Lily was confused.

I sighed. This was going to be a long conversation.

* * *

So after filling in the family on a lot of the details, after which everyone seemed to give Mika an approving look, we all got on to Lily's birthday party. She squealed in delight when I gave her the Chinese yoyo, which everyone appreciated, and didn't even bother with the rest of the presents. She just started playing with the yoyo, with Andy showing her how to keep it in the air.

I stayed with Andy during that time, asking him one question that I had been wanting the answer to for a while.

"How did you get your hands on the Rc suppressants?" I asked.

"Steady, Lily. Steady. You would not believe how lax the security is in the CCG safehouses."

"You know what, I think that answers the question. But why'd you send a box to me."

"I was hoping you could figure out how it specifically affects ghouls."

I laughed. "I actually found a different use for them after figuring out how to synthesize it."

Andy looked at me curiously. "What is it?"

"Enzyme pills. You can eat human food, digest it, and taste it the way humans taste it."

Andy's eyes widened. "And you didn't mention this earlier why?"

I rolled my eyes. "You basically had a system malfunction when you found out Mika and I were dating. I would've told you, but you kept insisting that Mika and I couldn't possibly be dating."

"Well dear cousin, allow me to be the first in our family to apologize for doubting that you have a girlfriend."

"Second. Your mom beat you to it." I said.

"Wow. Don't even have that going for me. Talk about harsh."

"Yeah, aside from that, you said there was this problem going on?" I asked.

Andy nodded. "A gang that's been running rampant. They've been feeding in plain sight, and the CCG here is downright incompetent when it comes to keeping these guys from running around. I've even seen an entire squad of the CCG get wiped out by them."

I sighed. "And in the interest of not letting Japan's CCG send stuff here, we're going to take out these guys, right?"

"Pretty much."

"And I thought I was done with ghoul gangs for a while." I muttered.

* * *

Mika decided to stay at our place in the guest room. Currently, we were in the living room. I was filling Mika in on all the details regarding what Andy was talking about earlier.

"So basically we're going to get tangled up with another ghoul gang with the interest of preserving the peace. Why does this sound familiar?" Mika said.

"Probably because we've had to do this before. But that aside, how do you like it here so far."

"Well, for one thing, it's really different from Japan." Mika said. "And I have almost no idea what people here are saying."

"Welcome to English, the language that makes no sense."

"Does it really make no sense?" Mika asked.

"Well, there are words that have the same spelling but different definitions and pronunciations, like content and content. Content is material that's being reviewed, while content means satisfied."

"And they have the exact same spelling?"

"Yep."

"English is a terrible language."

"Agreed. But other than that, there's tons of stuff that I can show you around here."

"Great! When can we look around?"

"Day after tomorrow." I said.

Mika was confused. "Why not tomorrow?"

"Because last time we went on a date the day after we arrived, you almost died and I went insane."

"Fair enough." Mika said before falling asleep on my chest.

Oh well, might as well sleep now.

* * *

"You cheated me." Second said the moment I appeared in our little dream world.

"Sorry?" I asked. I was a bit confused.

"You didn't even let me get some air last time you were in a dangerous situation." He said.

I sighed. "It's not like I want an alternate personality taking over when I don't expect it. Tell you what, I'll let you get some air tomorrow."

"I was just about to ask you about that. How did you— was I really about to ask how you knew what your alternate personality—"

"Wanted to talk about?" I finished.

"Yeah pretty much."

"Why do I even bother bringing you into my dream world if you're just going to do what I asked?"

"Because you know that I would never resort to you otherwise."

* * *

"This is their base of operations?" I asked, looking at the abandoned facility.

Andy nodded. "Yep, about eighty members in total. Although none of them are really that strong except the boss guy."

"So our biggest disadvantage is quantity. Sounds fun." Mika commented.

I put on my mask. "Well, let's get started."

* * *

**I had the struggle of too much for one chapter, too little for two chapters. We'll be travelling a couple of months to June, when the next arc of Tokyo Ghoul happens.**

**To the reviewer Tripple777, go ahead and draw. Although there isn't too much information for you to work with, I guess. I'll leave it up to you. **

**Sue me, I'm lazy, I know. **

**So yeah, until next time.**


	21. Big Steps

**So yeah, I'm not going to bother writing up what happened with the ghoul gang, all you have to know for the moment is that they were taken out. There's some plot development regarding Sora in the whole gang thing, but it's not huge enough that I think writing it is worth it. I like focusing more on the 'bridging the gap' portion of this story.**

**Also, let me make one thing clear: Reaching Out is solely from Sora's point of view. If you want other people's perspectives on things, you can go look at Reaching Out Sidestories. I'll take in requests for anything you might want to see.**

**UPDATE: Minor edits made to some errors I noticed. Please PM if you see other errors so I can get to them ASAP**

* * *

"So this is where you went to school." Mika commented.

"Yep. Welcome to MIT."

About a week after we got back to the States, Mika and I went to MIT so I could show her around. While I was already getting my research degree, Mika still had to do all her undergraduate work. She was actually considering coming here for further education.

I think I'm the youngest person on record to ever get a research degree, which is pretty neat. Although I'm not going to let that get to my head.

"This place is huge! And I thought Kamii was big." Mika was looking around, amazed.

I smiled. Her enthusiasm is really infectious. "Come on, let me go introduce you to some of the faculty."

Mika took my hand. "By the way, Sora, what's the rule on showing affection here?"

I looked at her. "Why?"

Mika pointed out a couple that was kissing very… intimately in the hallway (Get a room!). "That's why. I'm pretty sure they'd get at least five lectures by now from an older person about their behavior if they were in Japan."

I shook my head. "This is one of those 'we get it, you have a girlfriend' moments. People usually don't do anything about it."

"Yeah, but isn't it making someone uncomfortable?" Mika asked.

"Absolutely. It's making me uncomfortable right now."

"And we're not doing anything because…?"

"Because ignoring people was a specialty of mine back when I was a student here. And it's kinda rude to interrupt a moment."

"Ohh. Ok." Mika said, before rubbing her forehead.

We stopped in front of my biology professor's office. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." A voice from inside said.

I walked in, and the professor seemed somewhat surprised to see me. "Sora, how are you? I thought you were still in Japan for the program."

I shrugged. "The term is done, and I'm back here for the graduation ceremony in order to receive my research degree."

"I see. And who is your friend here?" He asked.

Mika introduced herself, albeit somewhat awkwardly because her English isn't quite perfect yet. "H-hello, I'm Mika Shiraishi. I met Sora in Kamii University, and I am interested in going to school here for my graduate degree."

The professor nodded slightly before turning to me. "I see. Do you think Miss Shiraishi is capable of handling the graduate program here?"

"I have no doubts, sir. Mika is a very smart and is a great student. I believe she can handle it." I replied. "She's my first choice for a lab partner for good reason."

He nodded. "I see. Well then, I'll take a look at your application when you send it in."

"I thought professors didn't help with applications." I said.

"We have some say over the application, though not as much as an admissions officer." He admitted. "Students do seek us out for recommendation letters, but they don't realize that we can have some input on how good an application is."

After we left the office, I guided Mika to the final place I wanted to show her.

"So what's this place you wanted to show me?" Mika asked, rubbing her forehead.

"Give it a moment." I said.

A few minutes later, we got to the Koch Building. Where my lab happened to be located. Around this time, Mika sneezed.

"You alright?" I asked.

Mika nodded. "Kind of. I do feel a bit sick though. Not sure why."

I placed my hand on her head to check. Ignoring Mika's blush, I held it there for a couple of seconds, before removing my hand. "I think you have a fever building up. Not sure though. Probably need to take your temperature when we get home. Did this start up just now?"

Mika shook her head. "About a few hours ago. I didn't want to say anything about it because you were showing me around MIT."

I deliberated for a moment. "You know what, we can continue the tour some other time. For now, let's go home. You should get some rest."

"Alright."

* * *

"I can't believe you're using me to test the effects of human medicine on ghouls." Mika said from where she was wrapped up on the couch.

"Hey, it's a perfect opportunity. I've never seen a ghoul get sick before. Can you blame me for thinking about it like this?" I said.

"And so instead of comforting your girlfriend and handing her medicine like a regular person, you decide to turn this into an experiment? I know I've probably said this about fifty times or something since we started dating, but you are the strangest boyfriend in existence." Mika said.

"Hey, the only difference between what you described and what I'm doing is that I have a clipboard."

"…Whatever. Just hand me the medicine. My head is killing me."

"One aspirin coming right up. By the way, I'm going to give you some liquid medicine later, just brace yourself. It's going to taste terrible." I said, handing Mika a pill and a mug of warm water.

"And how is that different than how human stuff regularly tastes?" Mika asked, not wanting to focus on anything but the headache.

"Well, seeing as you've never had grape medicine, I can't expect you to know. But trust me, it tastes downright awful."

"…I'll take your word for it. So what now?"

"Well, we could watch a movie or something. It's not like I'm restrained to sitting here taking notes on the effects the medicine is having on your body." I said.

Mika adjusted herself so that her head was on top of my lap. "How about now?"

"…I'm restrained."

"Wait. A 57 kilogram girl like me is restraining you with just my head?"

"Yeah pretty much. Do you mind moving your head so I can go load up a movie?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

About 35 minutes into The Lion King, Mika started crying. I'll admit, I was a tad bit heartless in dealing with this.

"Oh come on, it's just a movie!"

"Are you kidding me? This is so sad!" Mika was almost bawling her eyes out.

So… is this regular Mika, Mika with a fever, or Mika under the influence of aspirin? I doubt that the aspirin has this kind of effect, so probably Mika with a fever. I'll admit, I was not expecting that level of emotion from Mika. I have clearly underestimated the power of Disney movies. I shall not do so again.

After The Lion King finished, Mika snuggled up to me. "How about a different movie?"

I shrugged. "What did you have in mind?"

Mika pulled out Paranormal Activity 3 from the shelf.

I almost let out a groan. Of course Mika would pick something with horror in it. Why we even bought that movie, I will never know.

Unfortunately, I have a very bad history with the horror genre of movies. Especially the ones where you know something's coming but you don't know exactly when.

To make things worse, I knew right away that I wouldn't be able to say no to Mika. And leaving her by herself isn't an option either. It's a lose-lose situation for me.

Suffice to say, a couple hours later I was hiding under a blanket shivering from the scare.

"You're seriously scared of horror movies?" Mika was incredulous.

"I don't like them."

"Let me get this straight Sora. You're a ghoul who has an alternate personality that murders people because he's a sadist and you're ok with that, but you can't handle a cheesy horror movie?"

"Hey, Second still freaks me out when he goes on those killing streaks."

"Yet you let him out when we were taking out that other ghoul gang."

"Well, yeah. He was kinda miffed that he didn't see any action at Aogiri, so I promised to let him do some stuff."

"And somehow that resulted in you developing a fully-fledged kakuja right away despite the fact that most people that have them take forever."

"Yeah… somehow it did."

"I've said it a dozen times before, I'll say it a dozen times more, but you are the strangest boyfriend in existence."

* * *

The next few days I decided to get to work figuring out some numbers. While the pills were fine and the synthesized meat was well along the way, the problem still lay in getting the funding for all the stuff. My parents' small fortune wouldn't be enough to sustain the kind of production model I had in mind. After all, this was meant to be for all ghouls on the planet, not just the ones in Japan.

We did have to start in Japan though, seeing as that was where I would be enlisting most of the help that I needed for the operation.

"So any ideas for funding so far?" I asked Mika.

"Well, producing the synthesized meat is going to cost a lot more than the pills, so we either need to do some really good promotion or find ourselves a sponsor."

"We can't do promotions. The chance that the CCG figures things out is too high."

"You're right. As for sponsors, it's going to be tough to find someone who would be will be willing to fund a project that would end the whole ghoul purge. Which means the sponsor in question has to be a ghoul." Mika said.

I nodded. "But the problem is, ghouls don't tend to be that rich. How many ghouls out there are rich?" I asked.

"Well, there's Big Madam, who pretty much runs the ghoul black market. But she's not really a good source for this kind of stuff. She runs a ton of illegal operations that would instantly get her put under arrest and killed by the CCG. And then there's—" Mika cut herself off in that instant.

"Mika?" I was a bit worried.

Mika sighed. "There's also the Tsukiyama family. They originated from during the economic reign of the Zaibatsu."

I recognized that term. The economic elite of the elite during the 19th century. They pretty much ran everything. "And the Tsukiyama family was a part of that?"

Mika nodded. "They'd probably be more than willing to fund us. It's just…"

"That guy." I finished, thinking of a certain person who thought I would be great as a meal.

Mika simply glanced the other way. "Yeah. We need to talk to him if we want to have a chance of meeting with the current head of the Tsukiyama family."

I sighed. "Right. At least it won't be as bad as meeting your parents."

"Oh come on! My parents loved you!" Mika was miffed.

"Meeting them was scary. I had the feeling your dad was going to murder me if I stepped out of line."

"You know, I doubt that he would ever do that you."

"I was freaking out, alright?"

Mika sighed. "Right. So one of the first things on our agenda for when we go back to Japan is to find Tsukiyama so we can talk to his father about funding our research."

I'd say we're making good progress in this department. Hopefully we can make more progress as we go along.

* * *

Graduation simply could not come fast enough. Which is why I decided to go directly to MIT's president and ask for my diploma, explaining that I needed my degree right away so I could start up some work that I was planning. He complied. I'd say April was a good time to leave, even if I was home for only a month.

So pretty much, I wasn't going to be at graduation. It irritated the faculty to some degree that the smartest student in all of MIT wasn't going to be at graduation, but I explained to them that I didn't like standing on ceremony, as it wasted time and I didn't need the emotional push.

With that, Andy drove me and Mika to the airport (Lily tagged along also). We were getting our luggage into the check-in when Andy said his goodbye.

"Remember, be careful over there."

"I will. You stay safe too, alright? And try to get working on those enzyme pills if you can. That'd be great."

"I'll make sure to try and get some progress in distributing them."

Lily reached up to me for a hug. "See you later, Sowa?"

I smiled before picking her up and giving her a huge hug. "I'll see you later, alright Lily?"

"Right!"

With that, Mika and I left for Japan.

* * *

Mika and I were asleep for pretty much the entire plane ride, so we didn't really do anything until we finally got to Tokyo. First thing we did was drop off our stuff at home. We went over to Anteiku not too long after to have some coffee. As I opened the door, I heard the familiar sound of a plate breaking.

"Roma! That's five plates that you've broken this month!" I could hear Touka scolding who I assumed was the newest employee to Anteiku.

"I-I'm sorry."

Mika decided to make her presence known first. "Well. Nice to see that Anteiku hasn't gotten any less lively since we left."

Nishiki, Touka, and Enji all turned to see me and Mika walking into the shop. Enji was the first to say hi.

"How was America?" Enji asked.

"Hectic." Was Mika's only reply.

"Hectic? What do you mean?" Touka asked.

"Let's see… we took out a gang, visited MIT, did a bunch of financial calculations, grabbed my diploma, and helped set up a potential base for pill production." I counted the points off on my finger.

"That sounds… entertaining." Nishiki commented.

I sighed. "It really wasn't. We figured out a way to get mass production going for the enzyme pills, but I don't like it."

"What? Why not?" Touka asked.

"Because it involves talking to Tsukiyama." Mika said.

"Ohh." Everyone understood. Although Tsukiyama probably doesn't have that much of an interest in eating me (that privilege is reserved for Mika, and Mika alone), it was still creepy being described as a meal.

"Anyway, who's the employee?" I asked, gesturing at the girl currently trying to clean up the broken china on the ground.

"Oh yeah. This is our newest employee, Roma. She's a little bit clumsy, but she's alright." Enji said.

A little bit seems like an understatement if you ask me. There's no way you break that many plates in a month by being only a little bit clumsy.

"Well, it's good to see that you're back, Sora-kun, Mika-kun." Yoshimura said, coming down the stairs.

I nodded. "Manager, could I get your help on something?"

"Of course. Ask me anything you feel you need to ask."

"Do you know any ghouls that would be willing to help deliver boxes of pills to drop-off points once we get production rolling?" I asked.

Yoshimura looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "I think it would be better if you asked Irimi and Enji about that. They should have contacts."

I turned to Enji. "Any ideas?"

"Well, there's my old gang, the En. And Kaya probably has some contact still with her old gang the Black Dobers. Let me see if we can get some people willing to help you."

That would help a lot. "Thanks Enji."

* * *

After we had some coffee (and witnessed Roma breaking another plate), Mika and I went home to see a familiar head of white hair in front of our condo.

"Kaneki? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Oh, Sora. Where have you been?" He asked.

"In the United States, but what are you doing here?" Mika asked.

Kaneki scratched the back of his head. "Well, we sort of ran out of enzyme pills a couple weeks back. I was hoping I could pick up some more, but you weren't in."

I sighed. "Right. Let me go grab some pills then. But I need you to help me with something."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I need to talk to Tsukiyama."

Kaneki looked at me. "Why?"

"I need to ask him about potential funding. It's important." I said.

"Alright. I'll bring him over."

"Thanks. I'll be making more pills so that you can pick them up when you bring him."

As he left, Mika took my hand. "Are you sure about this, Sora?"

I sighed. "Unfortunately, I am."

I was relieved when Tsukiyama didn't bother to even talk about how good I smelled. It made business a lot easier.

"So, what can I do to help you, Sora-kun? It must be important if you're talking to me directly." Tsukiyama said.

Well, he's still egotistical. "Tsukiyama, how have you enjoyed the enzyme pills that I've made?"

"It's been a divine experience. I've been able to experience so many different foods thanks to them."

"Great. Because I need your help." I said.

"My help? What exactly do you need from me?" He asked.

"I need to talk to your father about funding for the pills and research that I'm doing." I said.

Tsukiyama seemed to ponder this for a moment. "It's true that my father has the financial strength to help you with this, but why would you need my help in this regard? You could arrange for a meeting with him."

I shook my head. "I've seen the paperwork required to talk with him, I do not want to fill all that out for only a potential chance at meeting up with him."

"I see. Very well, I'll talk to my father and try to arrange a meeting between you and him. You should be able to expect it within a week. Be sure to wear something formal."

"Thanks, Tsukiyama."

* * *

As promised, a week later, Mika, Nishiki, and I were all dressed up in business wear, ready to do meet up with the head of the Tsukiyama family, who I hoped was less flamboyant than his son.

"Master Mirumo will see you now." A young man guided us to what was clearly a dining room, where an older man wearing glasses was sitting.

"Welcome. I am Mirumo Tsukiyama. Head of the Tsukiyama family. May I ask for your names?"

"Nishiki Nishio."

"Mika Shiraishi."

"Sora Chao." I finished.

"Shuu said that you had something that you wished to talk to me about regarding funding for research. I assume you are here to tell me about it?"

I nodded. "Has your son told you about the enzyme pills that he was introduced to recently?"

"He has mentioned them, yes. I haven't had a chance to try it because apparently his supplier was out of town."

I think I heard a slight snicker from Mika. "Well, he would be right to some degree. After all, Sora here is technically the supplier. And the one who makes them."

Mirumo took a moment to look at me. "Is that so? How did you make them?"

I explained. "I spent hours analyzing the contents of ghoul saliva and stomach acid and compared them to that of a human's saliva and stomach acid. After that, it was a matter of figuring out which enzymes ghouls didn't have that humans did have and adding a sufficient amount for a ghoul to consume a meal that humans eat and absorb the nutrients."

"I see. How did you deal with the taste?" He asked. "I can't imagine that ghouls would be willing to eat human food even if they could absorb the nutrients. After all, the taste still remains."

I shrugged. "When I was first working it out, I used a numbing agent. I did figure out later how to force a ghoul's taste buds to recede through use of Rc suppressants."

"Interesting. I suppose the important question now is why you would bring this up with me?"

At this point, Nishiki explained. "We need funding in order to mass-produce these pills. We thinking that you would be able to help us with this."

Mirumo raised his eyebrows. "Really now? While funding you would certainly be within my ability, why should I help you with this? What is your goal in mass-producing these pills?"

Mika nudged my arm. I guess this is my show, seeing as I'm the one who started us all on this path. "What you need to understand is that we're not doing this to make profit. Our goal, or at least my goal, in the short run, is to reduce the number of cases of ghouls and humans dying."

"I see. And what is your goal in the long run?"

I took a breath. This was the statement that would make or break our cause. "In the long run, I intend to bridge the gap between ghouls and humans. I want to create a world where humans don't have to worry everyday about eaten by ghouls. Where ghouls can walk free without having to worry about being targeted by the CCG simply because they're ghouls. But unless we can eliminate the need to eat humans, that world will never come. That's my end goal."

We stood waiting for Mirumo's response for a while. I was nervous. Did I go too far talking about the end goal of everything?

A chuckle interrupted my thoughts, which turned into a light-hearted laugh. "Well, that certainly was inspiring." Mirumo said after a few seconds of laughing.

"Sorry?" I asked, confused.

"It's nothing. Being around Shuu, you get used to his plethora of fancy words that he uses to get his point across. On the other hand, you are much more straightforward when you speak. I must say, that was a fine speech from you. I certainly hope I can see this world that you envision one day."

He took a seat before continuing. "I will support your cause. Until the day comes where I die or your dream is realized, I will provide any form of assistance that I can for you. Now, what do you require of me?"

* * *

After we left, Mika, Nishiki and I were deep in conversation.

"I can't believe he actually agreed. I thought he was going to put up more of a fight." Nishiki said.

"Still, that's a lot off of our shoulders. At least we don't have to worry about funding now." I said with a sigh of relief.

"True. But more importantly, where did you learn to talk like that?" Mika asked me.

My face went somewhat red. "Books."

"Books?" Both Mika and Nishiki were incredulous.

"Books." I confirmed. "What? Some of the writers are really good at what they do. I just copy it."

"Yeah, sure." Nishiki said.

"Still though, that was not was I expecting from the head of the Tsukiyama family." Mika said.

We all nodded in agreement. I'm pretty sure we all thought it was going to be a 'like father, like son' kind of thing. I guess that's not the case.

"Anyway, I'm going to head home now. You two take care." Nishiki said.

After we said goodbye, Mika and I were left to walk by ourselves.

"So, any ideas on what to do next?" Mika asked.

"Honestly, I just want to go home." I said, stretching.

"I think I'd be fine with that." Mika agreed.

As we walked home, Mika started talking again. As the ever attentive boyfriend I was, I listened.

"You know, when I first went to Kamii University, I never thought my life would end up like this. Meeting you, getting caught up in all the research that you did, even falling in love. I never thought I would be caught up in such huge events. I thought my life would be dying at the hands of the CCG or living to an old age in a really uneventful life. But you changed that, Sora. The moment you came into my life, something happened. You brought a change to the life I was living that I couldn't understand. But look where all that change has led us. You've done something huge, Sora. You've brought a chance at peace that could change the ghoul world forever. I could never thank you enough for that."

I shook my head. "Not really. Honestly, I should thank you more."

"Me? Why?" Mika asked.

I looked Mika right in the eye. "You should have seen me before I met you. You were right about one thing. I was a recluse. I wasn't close to anyone, didn't have any friends at all. My family was the only thing I was close to. More than anything else, I was selfish. The whole reason I got into all this research was because of Lily. I wanted to see a world where she could live without fear of being hunted every single day just for being what she was. But you changed that. You helped me realize that the world I wanted to see wasn't just a world for her. It was a world for everyone. You did the impossible and touched my heart. By being here with me, you made my dream a reality. I never would have dared to envision something so grand before. And that's why I can say this without a single doubt in my heart. Mika Shiraishi, I love you."

There. I said it. Months since we started dating, and only now did I finally say it. Saying those words out loud gives it weight.

Mika turned her body to me. "I love you too, Sora Chao."

And for a while, our lips stayed together. And while the general rules of PDA in Japan tell us that we really shouldn't be doing this, it's dark and no one's watching. I think we can afford a little moment for ourselves.

* * *

**Normally, I would never end on such a mushy note, but I wanted this chapter out. Sorry for taking almost two months on this, but given the progress I've made with the story, I think it's worth it. **

**Next chapter will dive more into the progress that Sora and co. will be making as they start making more progress.**

**Also, if you notice some error in this chapter or previous ones, be sure to shoot me a pm and I'll fix it asap. **


	22. Delivery Teams Assemble!

**So this chapter, Operation Pill Distribution begins.**

* * *

I couldn't help but smile as I looked at the group of ghouls that stood before me. Irimi and Enji had been true to their word, finding a good amount of members willing to help out with dropping off pill packages to different points in each ward. I think I had around sixty ghouls ready to help me, a large portion of which weren't even part of Irimi or Enji's old groups, but rather Tsukiyama's. Mika and Nishiki weren't here though, seeing as classes had begun for them, so I was left to do this by myself. It was about a month since we had met with Mirumo Tsukiyama. During that time, we had managed to establish a factory to produce the enzyme pills, as well as figure out good spots to drop them off at in each ward. Now, we were in the very factory where enzyme pills were manufactured and packaged

I took a breath before beginning my speech (rehearsed in the mirror so many times that Mika called me crazy).

"Thank you all for coming here. I believe you have all been told about what I am doing here, correct?"

After everyone confirmed that they knew what was done, I continued. "Right then, as you're all aware, this factory that we are currently in is responsible for the creation of enzyme pills, inventions of my own making that allow ghouls to eat human food and absorb nutrients from them, eliminating the need to eat humans. The only downsides to this are that you have to eat more than you regularly do to have the same amount of nutrients and your digestion rate will decrease. The job that you'll be doing here, while simple in nature, will be one of many steps in creating a world where ghouls and humans can coexist without constantly trying to kill each other. What you will be doing is delivering these enzyme pills to specific drop-off points in each ward where it would be easiest for a ghoul to pick them up. Any questions so far?"

One of the ghouls raised her hand. "How often will we be doing this?"

"I've been doing some math regarding that. We should be doing this at least once every two weeks. The chances are that the frequency with which you deliver the pills will probably increase, due to the fact that there are people who may eat more or less depending on their regular diets. This factory is more than able to process all of the materials in question. The only question is how often we will distribute the pills. We need to make sure we have the perfect balance of pill distribution. Distribute too often and we start wasting pills, while if we distribute too little, we end up with people without the pills. In other words, we need just enough so that humans stop disappearing from streets for ghoul-related reasons."

"You do realize that not all ghouls are going to accept this, right?" Someone asked.

I nodded. "That's a valid point. Which is why I'm working on synthesized meat so that they can enjoy eating what they're used to eating, although that won't stop all of them from continuing to hunt."

"I'll be frank, we can't do everything yet. However, we can do something for everyone, so focusing on what we can do right now is important. Coordination of distribution teams will be managed by Nishiki, who should be here right…"

I heard a door open. "Now. Sorry for being late, Sora. We had an exam that went over by half an hour."

I waved my hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. You're here, so we can get started. Alright, Nishiki will give you your instructions now."

Once they started chatting among themselves, I turned to Nishiki. "Where's Mika?"

"Shopping, if you can believe it. I've never seen her go shopping before." He said.

"What about that time at Takashimaya Times Square?" I asked.

"That was different. We were shopping for the formal. By the way, she told me to tell you that she'd be going home after she finished."

"Alright. I guess I'll be going after we get everything worked out."

* * *

As I opened the door to go back home, I called out. "Mika! I'm home!"

"Wait, Sora, don't come in ye—"

I'll admit, I didn't expect to see the mess that Mika made of the kitchen.

"Umm, Mika? What's going on here?"

Mika looked embarrassed. "I kind of tried to cook something to eat which ended up becoming an explosion."

I raised my eyebrow. "An explosion?"

"Well, stuff was flying everywhere. I didn't know that's what would happen if you put in oil after you put water in. I knocked some stuff over trying to get away from the reaction."

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

My girlfriend blinked. "What?"

"You said you put in oil after you put in the water. And then everything went flying. That's a lot of hot stuff flying around. Did you get hurt during that time?" I asked, inspecting her for any potential damage.

"But the mess—"

"We can always clean that up. Hmm. Looks like you're fine. Want to go out to eat after we clean this up?"

Mika finally realized that I didn't really care about the mess beyond whether or not we could clean it up and relaxed into a smile. "Sure. Can we go get sushi?"

"Sounds good to me."

After we finished cleaning up and started walking towards the closest sushi store, Mika started asking about work.

"How'd everything work out with the distribution operation?" Mika asked.

"We got everyone organized into the distribution groups, so that's going well. We're starting distribution tomorrow. I'm just worried about the possibility that other ghouls out there might not like what we're doing and sabotage the operation. I'm not too worried about the humans, seeing as our distribution locations are pretty out of the way."

"We could just set up a protection group, couldn't we? I mean, the ghouls from Enji and Irimi's group are really well-versed in territory wars, so they could protect our delivery people who don't want to fight."

"That's true. It should be easy enough to manage from there. The other problem I can think of is everyone in the area swarming on the deliveries. I think that should be solvable as long as we have them pick it up at nighttime over a spread out period of time, with only one or two people per group or family picking up the necessary amount of pills."

"Aside from that, there's also the potential consequences of what will happen once we start the operation. Have you considered how the ghouls that do receive the pills will react?"

"I've thought of a few possibilities. Obviously, there will be the ghouls that welcome this and continue their lives like nothing has changed, with the exception of not having to eat humans. Then there's going to be the other ghouls who are excited to try out new tastes and might go from restaurant to restaurant trying to find the best tastes, though that might prove rather painful on their wallets."

"Well, the ghouls with jobs will probably have it easier than the ghouls that don't. They probably have quite a bit of money saved up, seeing as they don't have to worry about groceries. Maybe we could set up kitchens? The number of ghouls that won't be able to afford food isn't so high that we'll have a line waiting. Plus, ghouls are more efficient in storing energy, so they won't have to go eat as often as humans. We could also keep pills on hand at these kitchens for ghouls to use in case they forget their own."

"Hmm. That could work. If we're going to do that though, we definitely have to be careful in setting up the kitchen. Putting it in a very human-accessible place could raise some eyebrows. Not to mention setting it up will be suspicious in and of itself."

"If so, there's a chance that they'll be suspected as gang members and arrested by the police. Any solutions for that?"

"Not yet, no. I'm still working on it. Hold on a second, I need to grab something from the bookstore real quick."

After I made a quick run in and confirmed that my order was ready, I picked it up and left the store. Mika noticed the small bag right away.

"So what did you order?"

"Kaneki asked me to grab some kanji books for Hinami the next time he came by to pick up some enzyme pills. The order just came in. And then there's one other book I got in there."

"Really? What book did you get?" Mika asked, before peeking into the bag. "On second thought, this wouldn't be a gift for me, would it?"

I smiled lightly. "Guilty. I figured you'd like Sen Takatsuki's newest works."

A quick peck on the cheek later, Mika and I were finally at the sushi bar. After we ate dinner, we went back home, where it quickly became evident that Mika was going to be so absorbed in the book that she would probably be tired in the morning. There was something that had been bothering me for months now, though I hadn't bothered to ask it.

"By the way, Mika. Is the blue highlight in your hair hereditary?"

Mika blinked. "Where did this come from?"

"Well, your mom has the exact same highlight in her hair, so I wasn't sure whether you dyed your hair or it was natural."

"Sora, have you seen any hair dye in our bathroom at all?"

I blinked. Where was this going? "I don't think so, I mean, I checked recently to make sure everything was in stock."

"And have you seen my hair fade to a lighter color?"

"Well, no…"

"Then how are you still asking this question?" Mika asked.

Oh. Ohh… How did I not see this? "Um, well… anyway, are you going to be up all night reading?"

"Yep! I really want to finish this book."

Thankfully enough, she didn't have classes tomorrow, so she could probably get away with reading all night. Mika may not have been as avid of a fan as Sen Takatsuki as Kaneki was, but she really got into the book.

For me though, I needed the sleep to operate efficiently tomorrow. Which is why I pretty much crashed into the bed.

* * *

The next morning, when I got up, Mika still wasn't in bed, so I went to our living room area to check. Sure enough, she was there, sleeping ungracefully on the couch. I shook my head in amusement. Silly Mika. But I couldn't leave her there. Thus began the not-so-long process of carrying her to bed before tucking her in. Obviously, it didn't take that long, but I still made sure she was well tucked in before I got going to work.

"Sweet dreams, Mika." I whispered.

I heard a knock at the door cuing my first meeting of the day. I opened it to see Kaneki. And just as planned, I handed him the bag with the books, as well as the pills.

"When should we come by again?" He asked.

I shrugged. "A couple weeks? Just call me in advance and I'll make sure to have some ready."

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Hold on a second. You mind helping me with something?"

Kaneki turned around again. "What do you need help with?"

Man, I miss the old Kaneki. So much more fun to mess around with. But I digress. "Depending on which ward you're in, I have enzyme pills being delivered to various locations. You mind making sure that everything goes well? You don't have to tell me about it, just make sure that they don't get mobbed. Here are the locations."

I handed Kaneki a piece of paper with all the drop-off location and estimated times that they would be dropped off. "I'll see what I can do."

Well, it's nice to see that he's still reliable. Even if he's barely around nowadays.

I heard a light yawn from behind me right after Kaneki left. I turned to see Mika get walking sluggishly to the kitchen. Before she could try and get the stove started, I stopped.

"Let me handle the cooking, alright? You're still sleepy."

"Urgh… I need some coffee."

"One specially made cup coming right up! Just sit tight and I'll have it done in a couple minutes."

About ten minutes later, Mika and I were eating scrambled eggs and hashbrowns with coffee.

"You know, it's been a while since I've had your coffee."

"Huh. I should start making it more often. I mean, it's not that hard to make some every morning."

"That's true. So what's your plan later today?"

"I'll be checking in with Nishiki about the distribution teams later. After that, I'll be back home and we can try to get some progress with the synthesized meat."

"I'm pretty sure all we need at this point is the hemoglobin so that we can test it out."

"Fair point. You going back to sleep after you finish eating?"

"Yeah. I think I spent way too long staying up last night reading that book."

"Well, sleep tight." I said, giving Mika a peck on the lips before heading out.

* * *

"Alright, how are things looking so far for everyone?" I asked Nishiki.

"Well, we've pretty much covered every single ward that is normally accessed by ghouls, so that's a relief. Pills will be accessible within a couple of miles for every single ghoul when we distribute them, though we probably need to increase the delivery rate by around 50%."

"Noted. The factory production should be able to handle that no problem. You've arranged a time schedule, right?"

"The first group is already on their way to the 11th Ward. Next group should be on the move in about ten minutes to the 13th Ward."

So far so good. Though I shouldn't get my hopes up too high. Worst case scenario, Aogiri catches on to what we're doing and makes it tougher for us by screwing over our delivery people. The CCG finding out about our operation would probably put a hindrance in our plan as well, though I'm not sure as to how bad it would be compared to Aogiri getting pissed off at us. If I were to guess, Aogiri's actions would be more overt while the CCG would try a more covert approach. Probably force us to keep tabs on the ghouls that pick up our shipment.

The only question now is whether it's going to be the CCG that finds out about us first, or Aogiri. Hopefully not Aogiri. That would suck.

* * *

About a month and a half after distribution operations started, Nishiki, Mika and I each decided to tag along with a group that to see how things were working out with the distribution groups. I was with the group that went to the 15th Ward. There wasn't anything particularly exciting here, though there were quite a few ghouls who asked me about how everything worked.

"If you ever need to contact us, come to this address. We're just in the 17th Ward. Even if I'm not there, someone will be there to help you with any problems that may arise." I said to the woman who had stayed behind to ask questions.

The woman nodded in appreciation. "Thank you for this."

When we finally got back to our base of operations, I walked into the meeting room to see Mika and Nishiki both sitting down, waiting for me to get back.

"How was the 15th Ward?" Nishiki asked.

I shrugged. "Believe it or not, it was pretty mellow. I told one of residents there to contact us if anything happened. How were things on your end?"

Mika went first. "It went decently well. Some guy tried to ask me out for dinner though. I kicked him in a very sensitive place."

That's my girl. "How about you, Nishiki? How was the 7th Ward?"

"About as boring as yours, Sora. Though I did get some news while I was there. Apparently the ghoul restaurant in the area was completely destroyed."

"Ghoul restaurant?" I asked.

"Some high-up social thing where rich ghouls watch these guys, known as scrappers, tear apart a human to eat as a meal. It's pretty gruesome, but the ghouls there really enjoy it."

"Go figure." I muttered under my breath.

"Either way, someone took down the entire place. I don't think there were any survivors there. Whoever it was that took it down did a really thorough job."

"Are there any other clues? I doubt they just walked in, killed everyone, and left."

"Well, rumors aren't very good as information sources, but apparently there were signs of cannibalism at the scene."

I blinked. Is someone trying to form a kakuja or just get stronger? So far, the only kakujas I know is myself. According to Yoshimura, there's another ghoul out there with a kakuja, but I'm not sure as to the details.

"Let's worry about that later. We need to focus on the more important topic of setting up another base of operations so that the late-night teams don't have to worry about travelling all the way back to the 17th Ward if they're on the other side of the city."

"Why not set it up in the 10th or 13th Ward? Those are well-situated. And I'm pretty sure Anteiku could help house people from time to time when our delivery team is in the area." Mika said.

"On second thought, case closed. We just need to go talk to Mr. Tsukiyama about this when we get the chance." I said.

That was easily the most important five minute meeting that we have ever had.

* * *

Mika and I (Nishiki had other stuff to work on) brought this issue up with the Tsukiyama patriarch the moment we had a chance (the next day). He was rather reasonable about the whole thing.

"It might take a while to establish, but I believe we should be able to set up a couple of places in the 10th Ward where the delivery teams can rest. It would definitely make things easier, as they wouldn't have to travel so far. Might I suggest having deliveries to a nearby warehouse so that the delivery teams can go there to grab the pills instead of going all the way back to the factory?"

I nodded. "That would be a good idea. And if you could find someone that could oversee the operations there, that would help as well."

"Actually, I believe there is someone in my employment who would be able to assist you in that regard. Matsumae, if you would come here, please?"

A few moments later, a young woman appeared in the room where we were meeting. "This is Matsumae. Her capabilities should be able to help you."

Matsumae bowed. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Chao. I look forward to working with you in the future."

I nodded. "As do I, Matsumae."

Mika turned to Mirumo. "How has the distribution affected the number of ghoul cases over this last month? We haven't really been able to keep track of news because we were so busy."

"Well, you'll be pleased to hear that compared to last month, the number of ghoul-related cases has decreased by about forty percent. Another interesting thing to note is that restaurants seem to be receiving more revenue these days. No one is sure to the cause as of yet."

Well, it's not perfect, but it's a significant start. And eating at restaurants will definitely decrease the chance that the CCG finds out that someone is a ghoul. Though if they're smart, they might make the connection. I really need to get the synthesized meat working soon.

"Now, is there anything else that you would like done?" Mirumo asked.

"A small farm of sugar beets would be nice, along with an extractor that we could use to extract hemoglobin from the beets." I said, remembering the article that Mika and I found a while back regarding sugar beets and hemoglobin.

"Sugar beets?" Said sponsor was slightly incredulous.

"Sugar beets." I confirmed.

"May I ask why?"

I chuckled. "Aside from the enzyme pills, there is one other project that I am working on. Synthesized meat. Not all ghouls are going to enjoy the enzyme pills, so I thought it would be a good idea to create a synthesized meat that ghouls could consume. The biggest problem though, was the taste. When created separately from the human body, the synthesized meat took on a bland taste that most ghouls would hate eating."

"And sugar beets factor into this. How?"

"Well, I found an article a while back detailing how the hemoglobin in sugar beets was almost the exact same as the hemoglobin found in the human body. And hemoglobin is what makes meat taste like meat. So we decided to try and mix the hemoglobin with the synthesized meat to see how that turned out. Unfortunately, we haven't had the chance to do so yet." Mika said.

"Hmm. I see. That certainly is warming to hear about. I'll see what I can do on my end to acquire the things that you require. For now, it would be best if you discussed things with Matsumae regarding management of the western half of the distribution teams."

After Mirumo Tsukiyama left the room, I turned to Matsumae. "Did you have any previous occupations that might assist in managing a decently large group of ghouls?"

"I was a high school teacher for a while."

I blinked. "Honestly, I was not expecting that."

"Is something wrong, Mr. Chao?" Matsumae asked, concern in her voice.

"On the contrary, your former job is perfectly fine. I thought you might have had a different job that didn't entail so much management, but a former high school teacher? That suggests intelligence. And someone with intelligence is the kind of person that I want to act as an overseer for part of the operation. Obviously, we'll have to do some training so that you have an excellent grasp on everything that needs to be done, but I think you'll fit in just fine. Meet us at our current facility in the 17th Ward and we'll get something figured out."

* * *

After we left, Mika couldn't help but comment. "I swear, Mr. Tsukiyama pretty much obliges with everything we ask for. I feel like he would have been reluctant to let us get away with so many requests. And he's even helping us by pretty much letting one of his servants go."

"Well, it's not like he needed to have said servant help us. He probably could've had someone else help us instead. And I try to make my requests reasonable by explaining all the important details regarding why we would need something done."

"Fair enough. Come to think of it, what would happen if sugar beets do turn out to be the solution that we were looking for?"

"Then sugar beet farmers are going to make a killing."

"That is both a funny and a strange thought at the same time. Sugar beets would definitely become a lucrative business in the future."

"Prices are probably going to go up as well. It does take a lot of sugar beets to get a good amount of hemoglobin. After all, they're not the main component of the beets."

"We should probably look for alternatives to the sugar beets as well. I doubt that the amount of hemoglobin we get from the sugar beets is going to be enough to cover all the synthesized meat that we need."

"We could probably try testing out a bunch of different things. After all, sugar beets can't be the only things that have hemoglobin that's similar to human hemoglobin."

"Let's keep that in mind. For now, let's just focus on the sugar beets." Mika said.

Sounds like a good plan of action.

* * *

About a week later, we finally got our hands on the sugar beets, as well as an extractor. Which was good because I almost started worrying about how we were going to get the hemoglobin out.

After extracting enough hemoglobin to fill a small container, I poured some out into a tiny dish and dipped my finger in to take a taste. The moment the hemoglobin hit my tongue, my eyes went wide.

Mika came over when she saw me doing the taste test. "So how was it?"

I passed her the dish. "Try it for yourself."

Mika's eyes went wide as well. "No way. This is richer than human blood."

The sugar beet farmers are going to make a killing once they figure out the significance of what they have on hand. Or the price is going to stay same and they're going to get paid to make more. Something like that. But sugar beets just became a lot more important to the world. Now it's just a matter of making enough so that we don't have a shortage.

"Umm, boss. You have a visitor. And you're not going to like this." One of the ghouls called my attention.

I blinked in surprise. Did one of the ghouls from the delivery points run into some trouble? "Tell them to wait in my office. I'll be there in a moment."

"Alright, will do."

Mika turned to me, frowning. "This isn't going to be good news, is it?"

I shook my head. "Probably not. But to be honest, we've been pretty lucky not to run into trouble until now."

Mika kissed me. "Whatever it is, be careful."

"I will."

As I walked into my office, I decided to play it neutral. I didn't know exactly what I would expect. "Sorry for taking my time. I hope you didn't wait too long."

"No, not at all. I just need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Well then, how can I help you, sir?" I asked, finally taking a look at him. The shock was immediate.

A middle-aged man, with dark hair combed backwards, sat in the chair before me. However, the things that instantly caught my attention were his attire and his suitcase. The man sitting next to him was wearing the same thing, though

The attire was formal, suit and tie. Nothing fancy. However, the suitcase had a very familiar emblem on it, the seal having on it a bird that ghouls everywhere recognized.

I was sitting before two CCG investigators.

"I'm Taishi Fura. And this is Yukinori Shinohara. We're from the Commission of Counter Ghoul. I'm hoping you can answer some questions for us."

* * *

**Well that went down south pretty quick. Though it technically took about two and a half months to get to that point. I'm trying to keep the timing with Tokyo Ghoul timeline so that it makes sense. I realize a lot of people won't really care as much about that stuff, but it bothers me to no end if I don't get the information correct.**

**I like speculation and possibilities. It makes things more fun. **

**So either way, it's time to speculate. What exactly are the CCG doing there? Remember, the pill distribution is not the only potential reason for them to be at that location.**

**Well, until next chapter.**


	23. Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

**So we're picking up where we last left off, with the CCG pretty much knocking on Sora's front door. (I got the MC mixed up with the one from my other story)**

**A little of my thoughts on how the CCG will react to the whole thing. Certain individuals will definitely be pissed off at the idea of the company existing. Some particulars that I think would be against the existence of said company would be as following: Matsuri Washuu, Juuzou (as of the moment. I expect a change once :re rolls around in this story), possibly Arima, Urie (once we get to it), Kijima, as well as a couple of other people.**

* * *

"How can I help you, sir?" I asked, nervousness running through my system. I didn't want to imagine how bad things were going to get if the CCG didn't like what was going on here. After all, what we were doing was pretty much equivalent to ruining their livelihood. The suitcase on Investigator Fura's side smelled strangely familiar to me, though I didn't know why.

"Well, we were hoping you could answer some questions that we had." Investigator Fura said.

I nodded. "Of course. I'll do my best to answer your questions."

"If you don't mind, Fura, I'll start." Shinohara said. "Do you know anything about the whereabouts of Ken Kaneki?"

I blinked in surprise. Kaneki? Of all people? Were they onto him or something? "I'm sorry. I haven't seen Kaneki in more than a month. Why?"

"You were listed as his coworker when we searched through his job history at Anteiku, you weren't there, so we did some digging and found that you had found yourself a job as a manager for this pharmaceutical company." Shinohara explained.

Oh yeah. That's what the official front for this operation is. I mean, we're technically in pharmaceutical, so it's not a lie.

"I'm sorry. Last time I saw Kaneki, he had asked me to grab some kanji books so that he could teach his client's daughter how to read. I don't anything outside of that."

"So he's picked up a job as a tutor?"

"I believe so, yes." I confirmed.

"I see. Thank you for your time. However, that's not all that we want to ask you."

I figured as much. "What else do you want to know?"

"What exactly does your company do?" Fura asked.

Oh that's not good. "We're a pharmaceutical company. We produce drugs that are delivered to the drugstores in the local area. Anything else?"

So glad I decided to add that as part of our operations. I hope they haven't caught on to what we're doing.'

"I'd rather you answer the question in full, please."

"Pardon me"

"Starting about a month and a half ago, reports of ghoul activity all across the city started dropping in frequency. When we tried to follow up on this, a lot of people that were suspected of being ghouls in the 17th Ward were found to be leaving a few key spots at different times. When we set up cameras there, we found that there were other people dropping off packages there that were picked up by the people we suspected of being ghouls. The only suspicious action that these supposed ghouls have done is pick up these packages. We followed the people who delivered the package, and found them arriving at this. So tell me. What are in those packages?"

"Why would I know?" I asked.

"Look, if you're assisting ghouls, there are punishments for that. Tell us, and we can get those punishments reduced. After all, if you're a human assisting ghouls on the threat of death, we could probably get your sentence reduced to paying fines."

I had to try very hard not to laugh my head off. Not so much because I found the situation funny, but more of just the fact that we had only two months on this operation before we were found out. Well, time to try and keep them from attempting to kill everyone here. At least the Tsukiyama name was taken off the list of founders. That way it can't be traced to them.

After finally putting down the urge to laugh, I responded, deciding to address the first point. "A human assisting ghouls? For all you know, I could be a ghoul."

"We looked up your medical records from when you were living in America. They're a bit old, but they support the fact that you're a human." Fura responded, unsure where I was going with this.

"Those medical records are outdated." I replied flatly. "I haven't been human for the last eight months."

"So you're a ghoul."

"Yes."

"But you've only been a ghoul for eight months?"

I nodded. "I was a human before an organ transplant from a ghoul forced my body to undergo changes that essentially made me a ghoul."

"So it's true." Shinohara breathed.

I looked at him. "What is?"

"Was the doctor who performed the organ transplant Dr. Akihiro Kanou?"

"How did you—"

"We've been trying to track down Dr. Kanou for a while. He used to be a coroner for the CCG. The reason we've been trying to find information on him is because we believe that what clearly happened to you also happened to Kaneki." He said.

I was surprised, but not to that big of a point. "So it really was intentional. Yes, Kaneki is a human turned ghoul. I'll just tell you that right now."

"You can fill us in on those details later. For now, can you answer the question about what this company does?" Fura asked.

I sighed. Of course they would want to go back to this. "I told you the truth earlier when I said that this company is a pharmaceutical company that produces drugs that are then delivered to the local drugstores. We have a license for that, so don't worry about the legality. What I didn't mention is that this factory that we're currently in is also a research facility as well as a producer for a different drug that is off the market."

"And that drug is?"

"An enzyme pill that allows ghouls to eat and taste human food the way humans taste it. The main purpose of the pill though is to allow ghouls to absorb the nutrients from human food, thus nullifying the need to eat humans. Currently, we're expanding our operations so that we cover all of Tokyo. That way, ghouls everywhere won't have to worry about not having food."

The two of them stared at me. "You're serious about this."

I nodded. "Absolutely. It's already clear that you guys are onto us. Why would I bother to hide anything else?"

"And the research?" Shinohara asked.

"Creation of a synthesized meat that ghouls will be able to eat. We were actually approaching the taste testing of the meat at the time that you arrived."

"How did you synthesize this meat?"

"Extraction of human muscle cells. I would have preferred fresh samples at the time of obtaining the muscle cells, but when a person commits suicide, it's convenient how no one is caused any pain."

"What happened to the rest of the body?"

"If I were to guess, it's probably in a meat freezer that a certain ghoul organization holds for the ghouls that are unable to bring themselves to hunt."

"And this organization is?"

"My lips are sealed on this one. I'm sorry, but as things stand, I would prefer to maintain their confidentiality."

I was almost certain that these investigators were going to cart me off to Cochlea for refusing to hand out information. Instead, I was surprised when they stood up and made to leave the door.

"Are you going to report this to your superiors?" I asked.

For some reason, the guy on the left, Fura, hesitated. "If what you're telling us is true, then the worst that will happen is that we'll be forced to keep an eye on you. Regardless, we have to report this to our superiors."

Shinohara added on. "Expect to be called to the CCG headquarters in a couple of weeks at most. What happens from there on out depends on how willing you are to work with us."

I sighed. At the very least I could try something. "I expected as much. However, do you mind if we send a delivery of pills to the CCG periodically? It should be less expensive than whatever you use to keep your prisoners fed."

"I'll make sure to bring that up with our director."

I guess that's the best that I can hope for.

As soon as they left, Mika came in, worry written all over her face.

"I heard the entire thing. What's going to happen to us?"

I frowned. For once, I couldn't think of a realistic scenario. There were way too many factors in play for me to think of a logical solution. "I'm not sure."

We sat there quietly for a while before I decided on something. "We need to tell Nishiki to have a warehouse set up where we can stock up at least a month's supply of pills. And tell everyone that after tomorrow's delivery, they're all to take a break."

"What about you?" Mika asked.

"The only person that the CCG recognizes as a ghoul at the moment is me. If they're going to dismantle this operation, I intend to be the only one to take the fall." I said.

"I'm staying with you." Mika said firmly.

Where is this coming from? "Mika, you can't. If you do, the CCG is going to find out about you as well."

The slap that Mika gave me at that moment shocked me. The next moment, she was grabbing at my shirt.

"Don't you think I know that?" Mika shouted at me. "Don't you know that I know the consequences of staying with you?"

For the first time ever, I felt anger at Mika boil in me. Why wouldn't she listen? "If you do know, why are you staying? You'll be risking your life if you stay with me."

"Because I don't want to live without you!" She cried.

That stopped anything else that I might have said to her. Mika took this opportunity to continue. "Sora, I told you this before and I'll you this again. You are the strangest boyfriend out there. But you're also the only one that I will ever be able to have. There is no one else. What was it that we decided all those months ago when we started working at Anteiku?"

I still remember. "We're a team."

"Right. And we're staying a team until the very end. Alright?" Mika sniffled.

I nodded, holding Mika close. "Alright. Until the end."

For better or for worse, I won't be in this alone.

A thought occurred to me. "I'm guessing that everyone else should probably be put on break."

"Five hundred yen says that they're going to stick with us."

* * *

"So I've decided that after this next delivery, everyone will be on break for a while. Any questions?" I said.

All the ghouls looked at me. I had just told them about the CCG finding out about us. As things were, Mika and I would be the only ones that the CCG would know was affiliated with this, so if the operation got shut down, they wouldn't be involved.

Kenji, the leader for the 10th Ward distribution team, stepped forward. "Boss, when we signed up for this, we knew what we were getting into. We're not about to abandon something like this. What we're doing here is saving lives. I speak for everyone here when I say that the CCG is not going to stop us from doing our job. What we're doing here will change the world. If we were going to be stopped by a small distraction like the CCG, then there wouldn't be a reason for us to be here in the first place."

He turned around. "Everyone agree?"

I heard a resounding "Yes!" from everyone there. Even Nishiki, who was standing to the side, smiled a bit when heard them go at it.

I smiled a bit at this. "I'm grateful. You know, I've had a dream for a long time. A dream that one day ghouls will have the same rights as humans. Where we live in a world that we don't have to fear for our lives. If you really have the resolve to go on with this, then we'll make this dream a reality. Are you with me?"

Once again, the building resounded with the cries of affirmation. With that settled, I had only one final word for them.

"Dismissed! We'll be continuing the operations as normally scheduled."

I handed Mika a five hundred yen coin later that day.

* * *

"You're quitting?"

"Think of it as a backup plan in case things go shitty for you guys. I can continue from where you guys leave off in the dark. Maybe even have it in secret at Anteiku."

"Well, you do have everything you need, so that'll help. Good luck, Nishiki."

"You too. Though I think you'll need it more than I do."

It's a good backup plan. If we're ever forced to limit our operation, Nishiki can organize some ghouls to start up their own distribution. They'll have to be some sneaky, but it can work.

* * *

Only one week later, the CCG was at our facility again. This time though, Investigator Fura brought some more people. A couple of which I was familiar with.

"Eh? Hide? You joined the CCG?" I asked.

Hide scratched his head. "Well, yeah. I figured it would be a good fit for me."

I shrugged. "Makes sense. After all, you do love your detective work."

"You two know each other?" Fura asked.

I nodded. "Kamii University. He was the guy that gave me a tour of the school when I was there for a foreign exchange program, along with Kaneki. He figured out I was a ghoul after he found me doing research on enzyme comparison between ghouls and humans. I asked him to keep quiet because what I did was going to help both ghouls and humans in the long run."

Granted, that was a lie, but the truth requires that I mention Anteiku, and I don't really want to give that away.

"I see."

I turned to the other guy I recognized. "It's a pleasure to meet you again, Investigator Amon."

The big man frowned. "I don't remember meeting you before."

"We actually met twice. The first time, I accidentally ran into you while you were going to work."

"And the second time?"

"Hold on a second." I rummaged through my desk before finding my mask and putting it on. "Does this look familiar?"

That got a reaction from him.

"You're the Phantom ghoul (I had completely forgotten about my nickname among ghouls)." He said.

"Amon?" His partner (I assume) asked him.

"The night your father died, Akira, I confronted a ghoul with an eyepatch mask. He defeated me, but was trying to resist eating me to the best of his ability. That was when the ghoul known as Phantom came along and saved me from him, taking the eyepatch ghoul away before coming back to talk with me. He told me about a plan he had to make it so that ghouls could eat human food. I didn't think I would meet him again like this."

"Sora Chao, at your service." I said, extending my hand for him to shake.

He took it. "Pleasure to meet you at last."

I turned to the woman next to him (look at that height difference!), extending my hand. "You must be his partner. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Akira Mado. Did you tell Investigator Fura the truth about what you were doing here?" She asked, shaking my hand.

"I did. What? Does it seem too convenient?" I asked, somewhat confused.

"Well, to be honest, yes." Mado admitted.

"I'm not about to lie when you guys could obtain an investigation warrant and search this entire facility top to bottom."

"Forgive me if I still find that suspicious."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself. Speaking of suspicious things, why did Hide join the CCG?"

"Well, it was actually to find Kaneki. I'm still enrolled as a student at Kamii" He said.

"Figured as much." I muttered under my breath.

Fura interrupted us. "All that aside, we're not actually here to talk about your facility, though our head chairman wishes to speak to you in person about it later today."

"So what are you here for?" I asked.

"First, the effects that the organ transplant had on your body and which ghoul was used."

I blinked. "My body adjusted to it pretty quickly. The transplant essentially turned me into a ghoul, with no known side effects on my body. The noticeable difference between me and a regular ghoul is the eyes. Only one of my eyes becomes a kakugan."

I showed them my kakugan to prove it to them before continuing on. "As for the ghoul whose organs were used, I believe you know him by the alias 'Angel'"

Fura started for a second before regaining composure. "That's the ghoul I was assigned to. I thought you were in the United States when you became a ghoul."

"So was he. As a study abroad student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One of my classmates, actually." I explained.

"I see. Do you think something similar may have happened to Kaneki?" Shinohara asked.

I shook my head. "Not a chance. If anything, I'm surprised that Kaneki survived at all. The kakuhou is what needs to be transplanted to turn a human into a ghoul, and the chances of survival are slim to none, as the kakuhou would probably eat through the human. It was honestly more likely that the transplant would be a rejection, which makes Kaneki's case all the more strange."

"Yet you survived the same kind of transplant." Mado said, looking at me curiously.

I breathed in before explaining my hypothesis on how I survived. This was going to be tricky to word without having them ask more questions. "I survived because I was naturally part ghoul even before the organ transplant happened. It allowed my body to acclimate to the inclusion of a kakuhou without any problems. Before you ask, it's a long story that I don't think you have that much time for. I'll explain it some other time."

"Hm. Very well, then. There is one other thing I wish to ask you about. Akihiro Kanou was the man who transplanted Angel's kakuhou into you, correct?"

"Well, Angel's real name is Sosei, but yes, that's correct. Kaneki's kakuhou actually comes from the binge eater ghoul, whose name is Rize."

"I see. So the binge eater case can be considered closed." Shinohara said.

"Amon, you've met Kaneki before. He's the eyepatch ghoul." I said.

To that, Amon had little response. "I see. So that's why he was trying so hard to restrain himself from eating."

"While I want to ask more about your apparent heritage, I think we need to move on to the next question." Shinohara said.

"What question would this be?" I asked.

"We're starting an investigation into a piece of property that Dr. Kanou owns the day after tomorrow. Do you wish to come with us?"

That was not what I was expecting. "Why me?"

"Because you're current situation is a direct result of Dr. Kanou. I suppose you have some questions for him. Not only that, I've also looked into your accomplishments. A research degree already at your age is remarkable, after all. You should be able to help identify other things that may have been going on there. Not to mention you will be able to defend yourself with your kagune."

I frowned. "I prefer to use my kagune for more leisurely things."

"Such as?" Mado's eyes narrowed. She's probably wondering what horrendous things I do with the kagune.

"Flying."

"Flying?"

"Flying. I did get my kagune from the Angel ghoul. Flying is pretty fun, though I don't get that many opportunities to do it."

"I see."

"When do you need an answer by?" I asked Shinohara.

"Tomorrow night."

I nodded. "I see. In that case, do you want to go out for lunch before I go talk to your head chairman? I've learned of a couple of good places around here that we can go to. Especially this one really good curry restaurant."

At the word 'curry', Mado's eyes seemed to light up, if only the slightest bit.

Everyone else seemed to be in agreement as well. "Hey, that sounds like a good plan." Hide said.

"Well, meet me outside and we can walk there. I need to cover a few things with my employees before I go."

"We can wait with you. Besides, it'll give us good material to work with regarding how your facility works."

I shrugged. "I'm just going to talk with one of the guys that manages the teams."

After we left the office, I went over to Kenji, who I had promoted to a higher level of management. "Kenji, I'm going to head out for a bit. Make sure the afternoon teams for the 20th and 15th Ward head out as scheduled."

"You got it, boss." He said.

* * *

Mika joined me a few moments later. After introductions were passed around, we headed to the curry restaurant with a few pills in my pocket.

Hide asked most of the questions regarding the operation. "So how does distribution work?"

"We've set up around two to three teams per ward that head out at different times of the day every week or so to different locations in the ward that are easy for ghouls to access without human interference. At all other times, our employees are packaging the pills into boxes that we send over to our warehouse. Distribution is done by car and leaves the pickup area once an hour is up, leaving behind pills for anyone who might have missed the pickup. These pills are guarded by a small group of ghouls that I handpick so that no one steals them away and tries to sell them."

"What are these pills made of?" Mado asked.

"There are two main components of this pill. The nutrient absorption and the taste. The nutrient absorption is done by practically inserting enzymes into the ghoul that a ghoul lacks. The taste on the other hand is done through use of Rc suppressants. By creating a thin layer around the pill that dissolves upon contact with saliva, the Rc suppressants get delivered directly to the tongue, which then temporarily restructures the ghoul's tongue so that it can taste human food, at the cost of being able to taste human meat. This lasts for about an hour."

"How much does your company make each month? I can't imagine that producing the pills is inexpensive, given that you even use Rc suppressants in the formula."

I shrugged. "It actually is pretty inexpensive, when you consider the fact that I figured out how to synthesize Rc suppressants from a couple months of studying and analyzing. Not to mention providing drugs for a pharmaceutical company on the side pays well."

"That's… convenient." Mado said.

I shook my head. "It sounds convenient, but I went through a good few months of pain trying to replicate it. I must have tried hundreds of different variations to get the right mixture."

"Fair enough, I guess."

Once we got to the curry restaurant, Mado and I ended up being the ones ordering the food from the counter while everyone else waited at the table.

"…and one mild curry. That will be all." Mado said.

I looked over at her. "You sure your partner wants mild curry?"

"Trying out new things is good for you. He could use a change like this."

I shrugged. "Fair enough. It makes sense."

Amon's response to the mild curry was completely unexpected though. "SO SPICY!"

I blinked as I ate my curry, a really spicy one. I had made sure to order mild for Mika, seeing as she hadn't ever had spicy food before. Building up her taste for it would take a bit of time. But Amon's response was completely unexpected. "Do you mind if I try some of yours just to check?"

"Go ahead."

"Thanks." I said, taking a bite out of his curry. "This is most definitely mild curry."

"I don't eat spicy food though."

"Spicy food is good for clearing out your sinuses. I would recommend trying it out more often, so that you can have a clear nose."

Shinohara chuckled. "He's right, you know."

"I'll pass. My nose is pretty clear already." Amon said, slowly recovering from his experience.

"So it's true. You really can eat human food and have no side effects from it after you take the pills." Fura said.

"One pill per meal. It took me a while to figure out the ratios of enzymes. I used to have the problem of not having enough enzymes to dissolve all the food when I created the first prototypes for the enzyme pills." I said.

"I see." He said.

After we finished, Mika went back to the facility while I travelled with the CCG agents to the main building, where I would talk with their director.

* * *

"So you're the person responsible for decreasing the rates of ghoul cases by a significant amount in recent months."

When I was taking to the CCG main building, I ended up talking to Tsuneyoshi Washuu, the current chairman for the CCG. He was certainly imposing. I had heard tons of stories about the Washuu and how they founded the CCG. And how they were easily the most serious people out there.

"I've also heard about how you reduced it, with your inventions removing the need for ghouls to survive off only human flesh. Tell me, what is our purpose for doing this?" He asked.

Deep breaths, Sora. Deep breaths. "I intend to recreate this world. Make it into a world where ghouls and humans can live in peace."

"Interesting. You also said you would offer to deliver to us these same pills for the purpose of giving it to our ghoul prisoners. Correct?"

I nodded. "Correct. While I would rather that the CCG completely disappear, its use in putting down ghouls that are dangerous to society, like those of Aogiri Tree."

"Hmph. I have been filled in on many of the details by Special Class Investigator Shinohara, but I see your dreams do not interfere with your ability to think rationally. I suppose I can make this straightforward. Your operations may continue on as you please, with the ghouls working for you being protected from CCG discrimination. However, I have a few conditions."

"Name them." I said. I needed to know what needed to happen in order for us to continue unabated.

"First off, I need you to report the activities of your operation to us weekly. We cannot have you doing things without us knowing what it entail. Second, send us a package of pills every week for our prisoners in Cochlea. Finally,"

He took a pause before continuing. "You will begin your part-time job as an investigator for the CCG starting in a month."

So that's it, huh? I have to work as someone who will have to kill his own kind. All to have this chance at peace in the future. So long as I do that, the operations can continue. In retrospect, it's a small price to pay. But it's literally the opposite of what I want to do. I don't want to kill more than I have to. But given the terms, it's better than all the other potential problems we could have had.

"Very well. I accept."

* * *

**Well, a lot of stuff happened. R&amp;R please. I worked hard on this one (not really). **

**So many places I could go from here. Do try and speculate, I find it fun to read. **


	24. Raid and Resolve

**By my estimation, you guys will get to see Sora's kakuja at either the end of this chapter or the start of next chapter.**

* * *

"You'll be working directly under me for now. Until we find a suitable partner for you, you will technically be partnered up with me. I hope that doesn't bother you too much. Seeing as you never went to the academy, you'll start out as a Rank 3 Investigator." Yoshitoki Washuu said to me, a smile on his face.

I'll be honest, I was not expecting this. I thought every single member of the Washuu family was going to be utterly rigid and harsh, given their history as the founders of the CCG, but as was just shown to me, some of them are actually able to show genuine expressions other than irritation and disdain. This is shocking, to say the least.

I shook my head. "It really doesn't. It's just that…"

"That what?" He asked.

I shook my head in amusement. "I never thought I'd be working directly under a Washuu. Or that I would see a Washuu smile because he was feeling friendly."

At this he let out a small chuckle. "Just because you're a ghoul doesn't mean I necessarily hate you. If anything, I think what you're doing is rather interesting."

"Thanks." I commented drily. "Is there anything else that I should be aware of?"

"Well, Investigator Shinohara has told you about the raid that he would be coordinating the day after tomorrow, correct?"

I nodded. "He told me to give him an answer by tomorrow night."

"Right. I know you're not technically listed as an investigator until next month, but I would suggest you go with Shinohara on this raid. We'll provide you with a quinque if you need one."

* * *

"So in order for us to continue working on our operations, you have to work for the CCG." Mika surmised as she put down the plates.

"A few other things also, but yeah. That's pretty much the gist of it." I said.

"All things consider, I guess it could have been way worse, though I still don't like the idea of you working for the CCG."

I sighed. "I don't like it either. But we're able to continue our operations without hindrance because of this, so we don't really have the choice."

"That's true. You're going on the raid with Shinohara, right?" Mika asked.

I nodded. "I need to get answers from Dr. Kanou. There's no way his operation on Kaneki was a coincidence."

Mika shrugged. "It's possible that Rize's death was still coincidence, but I get the feeling that Kanou couldn't resist taking the opportunity to try experimenting again, once he found out that you were a beaming success."

Eh, I'd say that Kaneki was a beaming success. I'm surprised that he survived the process. After all, I had an unfair advantage in surviving. It's a bit repetitive, but a unique heritage does give a pretty big advantage.

I frowned. "That's the part that I still don't get. I was already part-ghoul before the organ transplant, so it was easy for my body to acclimatize to the kakuhou. Kaneki on the other hand, should have been eaten alive by it. It's not like you can just implant a kakuhou into anyone. We'd have tons of half-ghouls floating around if that was the case."

"Maybe the mental state of the person plays a factor in it." Mika looked thoughtful as she took an enzyme pill.

"I doubt it. Though if it does, that would be interesting. What worries me the most is that Kanou might be trying to replicate his success with Kaneki. It's not that hard to make it look like a ghoul was responsible for a person going missing." I placed the food on the table.

"Hmm. It's possible that during Kaneki's operation, Rize had her kakuhou damaged. If Kanou used a damaged kakuhou in the operation, it might have improved Kaneki's chances at survival."

"According to Shinohara, Kanou used to be a coroner for the CCG. Wouldn't he recognize a damaged kakuhou?"

"Well, what did he have to lose? If the kakuhou killed Kaneki, he could just report that the surgery was unsuccessful. If it didn't, he could ignore the press."

I put a piece of egg on in my mouth. "Still, that was a huge risk to take for him. There are a lot of ways that it could've gone wrong."

Mika began eating her salad. "That aside, mixing the hemoglobin with the synthesized meat turned out to be a success. It's still pretty expensive, though, so we're still looking for less expensive alternatives."

I nodded. "Maybe we should try a pure vegetable base and see if we can make something out of it."

"Yeah, sure. And while we're at it, we might as well try using monkeys as well because they're primates and humans are primates also."

"Did you… just sass me for suggesting that we try and go vegetarian with our synthesized meat?"

Mika had a small smile on her face. "I figured you could use some. It's been a while, after all. Though I'll see if I can dig up some information that we can use."

And once again, I am reminded of the awesome girlfriend that I have.

* * *

"I got word from the Bureau Director. You'll be joining us in the raid tomorrow?" Shinohara asked.

I nodded. "There's something I have to confirm regarding what Kanou was doing. I have a really bad feeling about it."

"Well then, let's get you outfitted for the raid. Do you need a quinque?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I'd rather just use my kagune. I'm already used to it."

"Hmm. Fair enough. Well, we can get you all the rest of the equipment then. It shouldn't take too long."

A few minutes later, I was trying on the coat that every single member of the CCG wore. I'll admit, it was pretty comfy, though I'd probably have to shed it if I wanted to use my kagune.

Shinohara handed me a suitcase a few moments later. I frowned, recognizing the design for almost every quinque container in existence. "I thought I told you that I would rather use my kagune."

"Unfortunately, there's a sizable number of people going on this raid as well. Explaining your situation to them would be difficult, and you would be facing some discrimination from them if you were to use your kagune. Thus, it would probably be better if you used a quinque. If it's unavoidable, use your kagune. Otherwise, try to avoid it."

I sighed. "I'll do it. So what is the quinque?"

"It's a tsunagi, a bikaku-type quinque. We produce them on a large scale, so they're not particularly strong, but they serve their purpose. I had this one made durable so you could handle it without it breaking. It's pretty much a sword. Do you think you can handle that?"

"Kendo lessons, don't fail me now." I muttered to myself.

"Excuse me?" Shinohara asked.

"My mom made me take kendo and tennis lessons from when I was seven years old all the way until I started college so I could exercise. Never really excelled at it though. Did decent enough to be considered around the middle of the group." I said.

I still remembered the all the stances, even if it had been years since I last picked up a shinai. Maybe I should take lessons again. It shouldn't take too long to learn all of it again. Maybe improve it too, seeing as Andy's put me through plenty of physical training.

"I see. That should make things easier. Do you need to practice?" Shinohara asked.

"For a few moments. Shouldn't take too long."

* * *

About ten minutes later, I found myself sparring with Akira Mado using shinai. I'll be honest, I don't think I can win. Physically, I'm probably superior due to my body composition, but I doubt that'll help me against someone who's been training for years fighting ghouls. In comparison, I have only around eight months or something.

So far, I hadn't been able to land a hit on her with the shinai. Her intuition is amazing. It's almost like she sees where I'm going to strike. Judging from her moves, she doesn't actually have that much experience with it (I'm guessing she prefers different kinds of weapons), but it's shocking how much of a difference there is between us. I don't even know if I could win against her, even if I used my kagune.

In terms of physique, I'm both faster and stronger than her, but she more than makes up for it with her intuition and experience.

After about twenty more minutes, I raised my hand up to signal that it was enough for the day.

When we went to get water, I started talking to her. "You're really good at this, you know. I couldn't even land a hit on you, and I've been practicing kendo for years."

"You haven't had exercise in a while, have you?" Mado asked.

I blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"

"Your movements. They seemed out of practice. You'll need to be careful if you're going to join us in the raid tomorrow. Even a single mistake can kill you."

I nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

As she left, I took a moment to lean back. It wasn't obvious at first glance, but Akira seemed to be related to the investigator that killed Hinami's mother. Honestly, I'm worried about Hinami. If Mado tries to get revenge, I'm not sure what we could do. I guess I could try and get Hinami to work for our pharmacy, put her under my protection. Come to think of it, we still don't have a name for our company.

All these months and we still don't have a name. I don't think things can get dumber than this.

* * *

Things got dumber.

"You mean we have to pay the landlord? I thought the Tsukiyama family covered that expense." I asked.

"They covered the first few months until you told them that you didn't want their name on the company. Apparently, we can pay for it ourselves. We do make a decent amount of money making over-the-counter drugs on the side, after all." Mika said.

I sighed. "Might as well pay then. We don't want to keep the landlord waiting."

"Also, take this for the raid. It's from our first successful batch." My girlfriend said, handing me a small package.

I looked inside. This could be useful. "Thanks. I'll make sure that I put it to good use. I'll probably use it to help heal up."

"Well, what else what you use it for?"

"…Fair enough."

I will never escape the master of sass that is Mika.

* * *

"Alright, everyone remember to stay together. That way, no one gets picked off. Above all else, there is safety in numbers." Shinohara said.

"Yes!"

And with that, we began our descent into Kanou's laboratory. Only a few steps down a corridor, we ran into what appeared to be mounds of flesh.

I blinked in surprise. "What are those?"

"Rc cell walls. They're seen quite frequently in the 24th Ward. They can pretty much open and close at will."

"Seems pretty handy if you want to hide something." I noted.

As we continued on, my nose began to pick up smells of flesh and blood. "We're not the first ones here. There's someone else here as well."

"Understood. Everyone, proceed with caution and prepare for battle."

To my slight relief, there was no fighting involved when we got out of the corridor and into the first room. On the other hand, there was a bloated body just lying off one of the railings.

"Well. There's a pleasant image." I commented.

"What happened here…?" Amon asked, clearly disturbed.

I glanced over at the back of the body, where I immediately recognized the bits and pieces of body mass lying around as kagune.

"Kanou's trying to make more one-eyed ghouls. That's the only explanation I can think of for this. But that kagune…"

"What about that kagune?" Amon asked.

"That's Rize's kagune. But I thought she was dead." I said.

Everyone looked at me in askance, as I realized that not everyone knew who Rize was. I explained quickly. "Rize Kamishiro is the name of the binge eater ghoul. She supposedly died in the steel beam accident. Seeing this kagune makes me think that she either has a relative that's who's a kakuhou donor or… oh for the love of God it's the second possibilty."

"What's this other possibility?" Shinohara asked.

"Rize is still alive, and I think she's being farmed for her kakuhou. You guys do it too in order to get a bunch of the same quinque, right?"

"To some degree, yes. So Kanou's making more one-eyed ghouls?" Mado asked.

I shook my head. "I think he's trying, but he's been unsuccessful so far. I've already told some of you about how the kakuhou would eat through the flesh if it were forcefully implanted into a human. I wouldn't be surprised if Kanou's success rate was 0%."

"But he's had two successes so far." Amon said, indirectly referencing me and Kaneki.

"One of them was a success because conditions were in his favor, the other one is an anomaly." I pointed out. "If Kanou was actually successful in his operations, there would be tons of one-eye ghouls in the streets."

"That's a bit of a relief, at least. Speaking of which, where did Juuzou go?" Mado asked.

Shinohara groaned in frustration. "He ran off again. Why am I not surprised?"

I sighed. "I'll go find him."

"Thanks."

As I split off from the group, I started mentally making a map so that I could make my way back if I needed to. Personally, I wasn't too hyped up on looking for Juuzou. Sure he's a talented guy, and he's somewhat nice-ish, but he's too much of a wild card. Way too reckless as a person as well. That aside, he could probably hold his own for a while, so I shouldn't need to worry that much about—

I jumped back just as a few rounds of kagune came by. Leave it to Aogiri to mess things up when we least expect it. And leave it to some crazy superior in Aogiri to bring Riku along on this raid, which is exactly who I ran into.

"You joined the doves? That's a new low."

"The other option was Cochlea. I'd rather not waste away there. The rooming seems pretty bad." I said.

"Save the dry wit, Sora. I'm only here to settle things with you once and for all." Riku said.

I sighed. "Riku, you don't have to do this, you know."

"Oh? And what alternative do you propose, Sora? Leave Aogiri? Perhaps sing a ballad?" He asked with a slight smirk.

"You could work for my company. I've already created an enzyme pill that allows us to fully eat human food to our heart's content without any of the side effects that come with it. It's already under the protection of the CCG as well, so legally, you can't be hunted if you work for me."

"You completed it." Riku expressed his surprise.

I nodded. "Been complete for more than six months now. So how about it? Will you reconsider—"

"No." Riku's reply was blunt.

"No?" I was shocked.

"This is all part of your goal, isn't it? Peace with the humans?" Riku asked. "When will you wake up and realize that peace is impossible? We're ghouls! We're the natural predators of humans. There is no way that we can ever find peace with them. If you really think otherwise, then you're a naïve fool!"

His kagune burst from his back. "Come, Sora. We fight to the death, here and now. If you really are determined to follow your ideals, then you should be prepared to die for them too!"

So that's it, huh? There's really no other way for the two of us to settle this. So be it. "It's a shame, you know. We still don't know each other that well. I really wish we could've gotten to know each other better." I activated my quinque.

"What, no kagune?" Riku asked.

I pointed the quinque at him. "I'll be taking your life, here and now, regardless of the method that I use. Whether or not I use my kagune will be based on whether or not you can make me. Besides, what kind of investigator would I be if I instantly resorted to my kagune?"

"Hmph. You're making a mistake. You think you can handle me with only a dove's weapon? When I have two different kagune to work with?"

Oh, just my luck. Why is it that whenever I end up fighting someone, said person has two different kagune?

Riku's bikaku popped out also, a long pink appendage, which was rather interesting when I compared it to his ukaku, a writhing mass of flames.

We didn't say anymore words. Riku shot a round of kagune shards at me before jumping in for a closer attack from his high ground. I hopped back to avoid the shards of kagune before blocking a downward attack from his bikaku with my quinque. The moment I felt the pressure from the kagune lower a bit, I took the opportunity to force it to the side and lunge in for a strike. I managed to get a good hit on Riku's arm, but he shot my left shoulder with a couple of kagune shards as well, slowing down my moves. I ripped out the kagune before backing off.

Our injuries healed up pretty quickly. It's unfortunate, but the very fact that both of us are ghouls means that unless one of us can get a decisive strike, this fight could go on for a while. It did. Riku and I ended up exchanging tons of blows, neither gaining an advantage over the other. I could probably end it faster if I used my kagune, though that would undoubtedly result in Riku's death. There wasn't another choice though. I had to kill Riku here and now.

Kill. It's such a simple word. Only four letters, yet those four letters take away someone's life, regardless of whether or not that person has plans, time in his life, or friends/lovers that will miss him. It's not like I haven't killed people before, even if Second was technically responsible for all those deaths.

Maybe that's the thing. Up until now, I've let Second do almost all the killing. The only people I've actually killed, I never really knew. They were simply my enemy, nothing else.

But this enemy has a face to it. And even if we never really were close, we're still family. And killing family hurts. It's basically killing a part of yourself.

Yet I still need to do this. If I don't, others may die at Riku's hands. I can't allow that. I won't allow it.

So I set my resolve. Riku will die at my hand. Even if my hands are dyed red with blood, I will continue. I will fight until there is no more fighting to be done.

As I went in for another strike, Riku broke my quinque. A second later, my kagune burst out of my back in its full glory.

"So you finally took out your kagune, huh? About time you brought it out."

"I'm sorry, Riku. I really wish it didn't have to be like this." I said.

"Huh?" Between one blink and the next, I had pierced Riku with my kagune. A fatal blow.

As Riku fell to the ground, he coughed up blood. "So you finally grew a pair and went for the killing blow, huh? I wouldn't have stood a chance if you had gone for it from the start."

I let a single teardrop fall. "Thank you, Riku."

Another cough of blood. "For what?"

"For helping me find my resolve. As well as helping me get settled in Tokyo. You've done a lot for me, even if it wasn't visible. I'll keep fighting for my peace. No compromise, no return, no regrets."

Riku closed his eyes. "You know, I really hate you. It seems like every time I try to assist Aogiri, I end up creating more obstacles for them."

His eyes didn't open again.

I didn't stop my tears from falling. "You're an idiot, you know."

I propped up Riku's body along the side of a wall. "I'll come back for you later."

* * *

I saw Juuzou as I was going along. He seemed alright, so I ran past. No bleeding at the very least. Though I think I saw some stitches along his stomach. Eh, it's effective as a temporary blocker of bleeding.

As I made my way into a large room, I instantly noticed all the bloated corpses lying around, just like the one that I saw earlier. The next thing I noticed was the giant centipede-like kagune that Shinohara was fighting.

Before I could take action, Shinohara was taken down and I got a good glimpse of the ghoul. The mask didn't seem right for some reason though. Almost like it was made of flesh, and not just—

Oh for the love of God, it's a kakuja. That explains a lot. The only question is, is this ghoul the one Yoshimura was talking about when he spoke of a kakuja in Aogiri? Or is he a completely new ghoul?

Wait. That head of white hair… it couldn't be Kaneki, could it? There aren't many other people that have that same head of hair.

Great. Just great. Kaneki's trying to feed on Shinohara. I need to stop that.

I got Kaneki off of Shinohara with a few well-placed shots of kagune shards, making him focus on me. It was at that moment that I realized, I fuc—

Just kidding. As Kaneki started running towards me, I could hear him muttering a bunch of nondescript nonsense under his breath. It occurred to me that Kaneki might be only partially developed. Which meant that he wasn't in full control of his actions at the moment.

The big problem though, is that the best chance at stopping a kakuja is another kakuja. Which meant I would have to use mine.

_Second, I need access to Seraph. Now._

_That bad, huh? Where would you be without me?_

_I'd probably be more sane, but that's beside the point. Seraph. Now. _

_Oh fine. I promise I won't hurt him much. _

I shed my coat and allowed my kakuja to come into existence. Another set of purple wings appeared on my back, while my rinkaku retracted itself back into my body. A thin layer of Rc cells covered my upper body, while a thicker one covered my lower body, strengthening my legs.

The main purpose of the kakuja? Extreme mobility. The lower body was meant to maximize my moving around, while the upper body was meant to protect me from overexerting myself. Two blades formed around my arms as well, while a white mask formed itself over my face, in almost the exact shape of my actual mask. Only this one was a full-face mask.

Deep down, I grinned. This would be fun. As Kaneki continued his berserk charge towards me, I lunged forward and kicked him into a wall, far exceeding his speed.

"Come now, Kaneki. Surely that's not the best you can do, is it?"

Personally, I think the taunting didn't really do anything. But that was me. Second was in control now.

I felt a sharp pain a moment later, as part of my side had been torn out.

_Come on, Second. What are you doing?_

_Thought I would give him a bit of a chance._

_This is a fight! Not entertainment for you!_

_Must you ruin my fun, Sora?_

_There is nothing entertaining about dying like this. If he incapacitates us, he's going to eat us. I mean, he's already cannibalized to the point of being an incomplete kakuja for crying out loud. And I get the feeling that if it fully develops, it'll be way stronger than ours. _

_We got to full kakuja in only a couple days and you're worried about him?_

_We're an anomaly. What do you expect? We can't go for the extended fights if we take hits._

…_fair enough._

I decided to end this instantly. The next time I made a pass on Kaneki, I cut through all of his kagune in an instant before knocking him through one of the exits. I would have followed him, but I heard footsteps from behind me.

"Who are you?!" Amon demanded an answer from me.

_Let me handle this, Second._

_Eh, fine. I had my fun. We should do this again!_

_I'd rather not._

_You buzzkill._

_That is a word I will never get used to hearing from my own mouth._

_Hey, it could be worse. I could choose a whole ton of different words like fu-_

_Mind letting me intercept that quinque that's about to kill me?_

_Oh, alright. I'll see you later!_

My kagune caught Amon's quinque before it landed on my head. "Geez, Amon. Is that how you treat someone who just saved an investigator?"

"Sora?"

"The one and only." I confirmed as I willed my kakuja away, showing myself to him. I walked over to Shinohara. "Are you alright?"

Shinohara groaned before slowly sitting up. "Could use a hospital, but I'll be alright."

"Lie down. You're injured. Not irreparably, but we'll take you to a hospital."

"Special Class Shinohara, I need to go check something out. Amon, could you call someone, there's this ghoul body that I've propped up a few corridors back that I think should be used for a quinque."

My ears picked up on a bit of sniffling a few seconds later. It was far, but I could just hear it. I decided to go there first.

On the way, I ran into the one person I considered a professional idiot.

"Oh, Sora!" Kaneki was surprised to see me.

I just walked up to him and punched him in the face. Really, really hard. As in, so hard I think I broke some of my bones as well as his cheekbone.

"Ow… I guess I deserved that." He said.

"Understatement of the century." I muttered under my breath. I raised my voice a bit. "Try not to risk your sanity just to get stronger, would you? I'd rather not have to beat you back into your senses again."

Tsukiyama, who was behind him, nodded. "Monsieur Sora is right, you know. I would advise you to follow his advice, Kaneki."

"I need to go now. See you later." I said.

I ran off down the tunnel, continuing to follow the sniffling sounds. Unfortunately, I ran into someone else before I got there.

"Ah, Sora-kun. Such a surprise to see you here. Are you remembering to take your medicine?" Dr. Kanou asked.

I palmed my face. "Your prescription technically finished up two months ago. And I didn't even need to take it."

He laughed. "True enough. But I doubt you're here for a social visit, given your uniform. So, how does it feel working for the CCG yet needing to eat humans?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Haven't had to do it."

The smile on Kanou's face disappeared, replaced by confusion. "Pardon?"

"Kind of hard to know what it feels like when I can eat human food. I made an enzyme pill that allows ghouls to eat human food without any side effects. Works for only one meal, but it's a tremendous help for ghouls."

Kanou simply stared for a moment before letting out a hearty laugh. "Well, it seems I was right to save your life. You truly have gone a long way from the boy I saved from death. I'm interested to see how you progress from here. Until next time, Sora-kun."

I would have tried to capture him, but Eto was with him. I doubt I would be able to beat Eto. I'm not willing to risk that quite yet.

As they left, I remembered hearing the sniffling and I managed to find my way to a room where a girl was crying over a dying body.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

Her head snapped towards my voice and I was shocked to see only one of her eyes was a kakugan. So Kanou actually had some successes besides me and Kaneki.

"You're Papa's first success…" She said with a deadpan.

I blinked. "Papa? Do you mean Dr. Kanou?"

She nodded.

"What happened?" I asked.

She sniffled again before speaking again. "Papa said that the damage to Shiro's kakuhou is too large to heal…"

Is Shiro her sister? Must be. They look so similar. Hmm. If there was some way to get her to talk more about it. Wait! That's it!

I dug the package Mika gave me out of my pocket. She wasn't joking when she was talking about it healing up. This is our specially made synthesized meat, designed to be better tasting than your regular human meat, as well as more nutritious. It also assists healing, which might just be what we need.

"Here. Eat this." I said, handing the package to the white-haired girl. "It might help."

We managed to get the food down her throat. My eyes widened a second later as I saw the healing take effect.

"Kuro…" A weak voice came from the white-haired girl.

Kuro started crying. "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

I shook my head. "It really wasn't all me. Only partly. If you ever feel like talking with me, this is my contact card."

I handed her my business card. It has the location of our factory, so that should help.

"Thank you so much. I'm Kurona. This is my sister, Nashiro."

I nodded. "I'm Sora. It's a pleasure to meet you. I need to go now, though. Hopefully we'll see each other again."

As I left, I made a path to where I remember placing Riku's body.

I plan to make a proper grave for him, but at the very least, I need his kakuhou. It's a good idea to have a strong quinque for when I get into fights with ghouls and don't want to use my kagune.

I arrived at the Riku's body, relieved to see that it was still there. Amon and the others arrived shortly after.

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

**Annnnd scene. Whew. That took a while. I actually put off on getting the next chapter of Promises just so I could have the perfect 2:1 ratio in terms of chapters.**

**Also, Riku's bikaku kagune is a reference to Minami from Tokyo Ghoul: Jack. I'll just put it out for you guys now in case you don't want to read Sidestories, but Riku is a member of the Minami family.**

**Basic gist: Many generations back, two members of the Minami family emigrated to the United States. And that's how there are members of the family in the United States as well as Japan.**

**So yeah, things are progressing nicely. R&amp;R please.**


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